The pigments produced by Monascus sp. are traditionally used in many East Asian countries for processing wide variety of food materials. Recently, we reported that the productivity of the pigments by Monascus anka AHU 9085 on basic medium was considerably improved by the addition of rice starch to the medium. In this report, the amount of pigments produced by Monascus anka AHU 9085 in the medium containing non-glutinous rice starch was larger than that in the one containing glutinous rice starch, and pretreatment of non-glutinous rice starch in the medium by β-amylase was enhanced the productivity of pigments in the culture. From the results of HPLC and LC-MS, the main purple pigments increased were estimated monascorubrin and rubropunctatin.

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We manufactured dried young rice plant powder (YR) and analyzed the chemical composition and pesticide. The effect of administration of YR on clinical laboratory data was studied. YR contained 56% dietary fiber and 11% minerals and no pesticide. Three sticks of YR (1.75g/stick) were administered to ten healthy adult every day for 12 weeks. No adverse effects to glucose metabolism, renal function, hepatic function and an electrolyte and no adverse events, such as induction of diarrhea or other serious problems were observed in the clinical laboratory data. To study the safety of excess intake of YR, six sticks were administered to six healthy adult. There were no adverse events too. Two or/and three sticks YR were given to 19 subjects for two weeks. The subjects filled out a questionnaire about the defecation frequency and fecal characteristics. In 10 subjects whose defecations was four or less than four days a week, the defecation frequency was increased significantly by two sticks of YR administration. The defecation frequency and quantity were increased significantly and improvement of fecal shape was observed by three sticks of YR administration. In 9 subjects whose defecations was more than four days a week, the defecation frequency and fecal characteristics didn't changed. There were no change on the number of fecal Bifidobacterium, total microflora, lecithinase positive Clostridium and pH. These results show that the intake of 5.3g YR containing 3g of dietary fiber improves the defecation frequency and the fecal characteristics, There was no adverse events by YR intake.

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Hypotensive effects and safety of fermented milk containing GABA (FMG) were investigated in a randomized, placebo-controlled, double-blind clinical trial. The subjects were adult males and females with high normal blood pressure (systolic blood pressure, SBP; test group=133.9±0.4mmHg, placebo group=133.9±0.4. diastolic blood pressure, DBP; test group=76.2±1.3mmHg, placebo group=77.0±1.2mmHg), who were not taking hypotensive medicine. FMG and placebo were given to test group and placebo group, respectively, for 12 weeks. The results revealed that the SBP was significantly lowered after 8 weeks of feeding in the test group and that DBP was significantly lowered after 12 weeks. In contrast, no changes in SBP or DBP were observed in the placebo group. During the test, no abnormal changes were observed in the results of blood examination, urinalysis or physical examination. Also, no adverse reactions, such as digestive tract symptoms, dry coughing, or allergic phenomena, were observed. In conclusion, these results demonstrated the benefits and safety of the FMG in subjects with high normal pressure.

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A simple method of HPLC for quantification of histidine-containing dipeptides (HCDP), anserine and carnosine, in animal meats was investigated. Each 10μL of extracts prepared by heat extraction from various animal meats including beef, pork, chicken, and tuna was applied to a TSKG-2500 PWXl column, developed with 45% acetonitrile containing 0.1% trifluoroacetic acid at a flow rate of 0.5mL/min, and monitored with an UV detector at 210nm. Both anserine and carnosine were eluted as an identical single peak and separated from other proteins, peptides and amino acids. Although a small amount of lysine and arginine were contained in the anserine-carnosine peak as major contaminants, these amino acids had no absorption at 210nm. Therefore, the detected peak that showed the same retention time of anserine or carnosine was calculated as total HCDP. By using a standard curve of carnosine, total HCDP content in meat extracts was rapidly quantified within 30min per one sample and the data obtained from this method were similar to those from an automatic amino acid analyzer.

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Sodium hydroxide solutions of pH 9 to 13 containing 0.1% (w/v) of sodium chloride were electrolyzed by using ceramics/titanium electrode without a separator. Available chlorine (AC) of approximately 0.2g/L was generated over the pH range of 9 to 12.4 at given electrolysis conditions, whereas the generation of AC decreased markedly and was not detected at pH 13. The efficiency of cleaning of ovalbumin-fouled stainless steel particles with chlorinated alkaline electrolyzed solution increased, depending on AC concentration. The cleaning with chlorinated alkaline electrolyzed solution (pH 12.3) containing 0.09 to 0.2g AC/L was more effective than those with NaOH solution alone at 40 to 80°C or pHs of 12.3 to 13.5 at 40°C. It was confirmed that cleaning power of the chlorinated alkaline electrolyzed solution was attributed to the actions of hydroxyl ions and hypochlorite ions.

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The antioxidative effect of 9 spices on volatile components in boiled sardines was studied by comparing the antioxidant activity of BHT. The peak area of propanal detected on TIC (GC-MS) of boiled sardine odor decreased with the addition of BHT. Therefore, propanal was found to be derived from the oxidation of lipids, and it seemed that the peak area of propanal was adopted as an index of antioxidation. The peak area of propanal of boiled sardines with the addition of 9 spices (allspice, cloves, cinnamon, nutmeg, oregano, fennel, thyme, turmeric, and black pepper) was lower than that of boiled sardines without spices, respectively, and except in the case of black pepper, the peak areas of propanal in boiled sardines with 8 added spices, respectively were the same value as that of boiled sardines with BHT added. On the other hand, that of boiled sardines with black pepper added was higher than that of boiled sardines with BHT added. It was found that the antioxidant activity of black pepper was inferior to that of the above 8 spices.

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The culture product of Suehirotake (Schizophyllum commune Fries) mycelium (SCP) is supposed to stimulate cellular immunity. In fact, Schizophyllan (β-1, 6-branched β-1, 3-glucan) contained in SCP has anti-tumor activity. In the present study, we investigated the effects of SCP feeding on cytokine production in mice in order to clarify the immunological effects of SCP as a dietary component. The levels of interleukin (IL)-12 and interferon (IFN)-γ produced in the culture supernatant of spleen cells from SCP-fed mice were significantly high compared to those in control group (P<0.05). Furthermore, the level of IFN-γ was dependent on the dose of SCP. The level of tumor necrosis factor (TNF)-α was not changed by SCP-feeding. These results suggest that SCP could be useful food with immunomodulating activities by promoting Th1 immune response via oral route.

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