In addition to its other functions, the skin controls water loss from the body and acts as a barrier against the external environment. The molecules in skin cells play a major role in these functions and are markedly affected by hormone and cytokine levels, which are regulated by aging and nutritional status. The protein hormone adiponectin increases skin collagen, hyaluronan, and ceramide levels and decreases liver lipid levels. Mallotus japonicus leaf extract increases adiponectin levels in 3T3L1 cells. Therefore, we investigated the effects of M. japonicus leaf extract on skin cell molecules and lipid metabolism in rats fed a high-fat diet, which decreased collagen synthesis as well as hyaluronan and ceramide levels. Collagen, hyaluronan, and ceramide levels increased in rats administered 0.3% M. japonicus leaf extract powder over one month. The extract also significantly reduced triacylglycerol levels around the testicles. These results suggest that M. japonicus leaf extract powder effectively improves skin functioning and decreases adipose tissue.

3-Monochloropropane-1,2-diol (3-MCPD) and glycidol are process contaminants found in foods, especially fats and oils. Flour dough improvers containing diacetyl tartaric acid esters of monoacylglycerides (DATEM) have been reported to react with chloride ions to form 3-MCPD in white bread; however, this finding remains controversial. In this study, we aimed to determine the effects of DATEM on 3-MCPD and glycidol formation in white bread. White bread was baked using distilled monoacylglycerides (MAG) or DATEM as emulsifiers, and 3-MCPD and glycidol contents were quantified via an indirect method using gas chromatography triple quadrupole mass spectrometry. Neither MAG nor DATEM increased the amounts of 3-MCPD and glycidol in white bread, suggesting that MAG and DATEM do not affect the formation of 3-MCPD and glycidol. Bread contains chloride ions as well as trace amounts of bromide ions, which originate from salt, fumigated wheat, and potassium bromate. Despite being formed from bromide ions, 3-monobromopropane-1,2-diol (3-MBPD) was not detected in the white bread. The results of this study demonstrate that the dough improvers MAG, DATEM, and bromide ions do not influence 3-MCPD, 3-MBPD, or glycidol formation during bread baking. These results provide important information for food safety management in bread baking with dough improvers.

Soybean [Glycine max (L.) Merr.] is an annual plant of the legume family that is ancestral to the Glycine bean (Glycine soja Sieb. & Zucc.). Soybeans are a key component of "Japanese cuisine," which has been registered as a UNESCO Heritage of Intangible Differentiation and has become an essential part of the Japanese diet. Despite being an important crop in Japan's food culture, the self-sufficiency rate of Japan's domestically produced soybean crop has declined considerably to ~24 % for use in food products and ~6% for combined non-food uses. Although domestic consumption of processed soybean products such as tofu has been increasing annually, imported soybeans have been used as raw materials. From the food security perspective, improving the self-sufficiency rate by promoting the development of soybean varieties that are internationally competitive and of superior quality is a prominent issue. Therefore, the Soybean Subcommittee of the 70th Anniversary Meeting of the Japanese Society for Food Science and Technology invited Dr. Yohei Nanjo of the Crops Research Division of the National Institute of Agrobiological Science in 2023 to give a presentation on the current state of soybean breeding and its future outlook.

Soybeans have been attracting increasing attention not only for their superior nutritional qualities, but also for their functional ingredients. In addition, there is growing interest in soybeans as a food that can cope with the "protein crisis" that is expected to come in the future, and as a raw material for "plant-based foods" such as soy meat. This interest is partly because soybeans have a smaller impact on the global environment, such as lower greenhouse gas emissions in the production process compared to the production of meat. As a result, global demand for soybeans is increasing, and the supply-demand balance for soybeans in Japan is beginning to change. This article introduces the recent situation surrounding domestically produced soybeans, as well as the efforts to breed and disseminate soybean varieties that are pod dehiscence resistant, high-yielding, and have modified seed components, which have been developed by the National Agriculture and Food Research Organization in recent years.