The camellia tree is widely grown in the Goto Islands, but its leaves are not effectively utilized. We developed a new fermented tea by rolling of camellia and green tea leaves at a ratio of 1 : 9. The tea exhibited good taste and smell. Feeding of a freeze-dried fermented tea extract suppressed elevations in blood glucose level of KK-A^y mice, an animal model of diabetes. In humans, the fermented tea suppressed postprandial glucose levels. Improvement of hyperglycemia is likely due to suppressed glucose absorption via inhibition of intestinal α-glucosidase activity. Sprague-Dawley rats fed a diet containing fermented tea extract had lower white adipose tissue weight, and serum and hepatic triacylglycerol concentrations. These effects were thought to be exerted by decreases in intestinal fat absorption and suppression of hepatic lipogenesis. Thus, the mixed fermented tea appears to exhibit antihyperglycemic and hypotriacylglycerolemic properties. We have successfully commercialized the mixed fermented tea, named “Goto Tsubaki-cha”. We anticipate that this tea will contribute to the revitalization of the local economy and agriculture of the Goto Islands.

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The effects of heat-treated Lactobacillus (Lb.) crispatus KT-11 on influenza virus infection and macrophage cytokine production in mice were investigated. The mice were orally administered saline containing heat-treated Lb. crispatus KT-11 (0, 1 or 10mg). Then, the mice were intranasally inoculated with influenza H1N1 virus and assessed for survival rate and changes in body weight. The mouse macrophage cell line RAW264 was cultured in the presence of heat-treated lactic acid bacteria for 48 hours. Cytokine levels in the cell culture supernatant were determined using ELISA. The area under the curve of changes in body weight (AUCW) in mice infected with influenza virus and orally administrated heat-treated Lb. crispatus KT-11 (1mg) was significantly higher than that in mice not administered any bacterium (control group). The concentrations of IFNα, TNFα, IL-1α and IL-6 were higher in the RAW264 cells cultured with heat-treated Lb. crispatus KT-11 than in control (non-addition of bacteria) or in those with other heat-treated bacteria. These results suggest that heat-treated Lb. crispatus KT-11 enhances macrophage cytokine production and protects against influenza virus infection.

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A method to evaluate the chewing ability of elderly people was proposed and subsequently tested by a panel consisting of 76 subjects using test foods such as kanten and mochi. Images of the discharged fragments after mastication for 15 seconds were processed, and the distribution of the fragment sizes was evaluated. The best indices reflecting the visual inspection results of the images were derived from the distributions. A strong correlation between mastication ability for the two foods was found, but some subjects had more difficulty chewing mochi than kanten. The mastication ability of each subject was strongly correlated with the Eichner group to which the subject belonged and the number of remaining teeth excluding removable dentures of the subject, which makes one suspect overturning of the denture. In order to remove arbitrariness of the choice of indices, an attempt was made to evaluate chewing ability by using deviation from the chewing fragment size distribution of healthy individuals. A simple method, which was performed earlier to evaluate chewing ability and consisted of adding glucose to the sample food and measuring the amount of glucose secreted in saliva, was evaluated.

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Society as a whole is developing a more nocturnal lifestyle as a result of advances in information technology and the increasing number of nighttime jobs. These changes in lifestyle have led to delayed bedtime and declining hours of sleep. A relationship between sleep disturbance and the deterioration in physical and mental health has recently been reported; specifically, the negative effects of sleep disturbance on brain and/or immune functions as well as lifestyle disease pathogenesis. Furthermore, the number of individuals with sleep disorders has been increasing with aging, representing a problem that needs to be addressed. We conducted a double-blind crossover study in 10 male subjects (age range, 40-69 years) who reported dissatisfaction with their sleep. Our aim was to determine the effect of asparagus cladophylls intake on sleep disturbance. The Pittsburgh Sleep Quality Index questionnaire revealed a significant reduction in sleep disturbance in response to cladophylls intake. Thus, asparagus cladophylls intake was found to improve sleep.

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In the previous paper, we found that milk heated at dry condition at 120°C had modified milk proteins having higher molecular weights as the results of glycation by SDS-PAGE analysis. In contrast, milk specimens heated at 140°C showed no visible protein bands suggesting formation of protein aggregations with larger molecular weights. While high concentrations of chlorogenic acid and epicatechin slightly suppressed glycation of milk proteins at 120°C, ascorbic acid enhanced glycation of milk proteins.

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We previously suggested that the LPC (lysolecithin) fraction of the native starch contained the stable LPC (St-LPC) and changeable LPC (Ch-LPC). In gelled starch, LPC extracted with hot water-saturated n-butanol (HOT) increased again. Therefore, we investigated the conversion of Ch-LPC or LPC of the starch granule surface to St-LPC using a Rapid Visco Analyzer programmed for two-cycle heating. When the gelled starch was reheated to 95°C, the amount of HOT-LPC extracted from the paste was remarkably decreased, whereas the LPC extracted at room temperature (RT) was increased. Thus, HOT- and RT-LPC represent St- and Ch-LPC, respectively. The fatty acid composition of the St-LPC contained a higher proportion of palmitic acid (53.6%) than linoleic acid (27.2%), and the proportions of fatty acids were almost the same as those of gelatinized starch in the first cycle. These results indicate that St-LPC was not newly formed during the gelling and reheating of gels.

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