This study investigated the effect of limonin and nomilin, citrus limonoids, on lipid metabolism in rats. Male Sprague-Dawley rats fed a high-fat high-cholesterol diet were orally given 50 mg/kg BW/ day limonin or nomilin for 5 weeks. No significant changes in body, liver, and visceral fat weight, plasma and liver lipid profile were observed except LDL-Chol increase in nomilin group. Nomilin reduced hepatic mRNA expression of Chrebp, Pparα, Fxr, Lxrα significantly and Srebf1c, Abca1 marginally significantly. The gene expression related to lipogenesis (Acaca, Fasn, Scd1, Me1), β-oxidation (Cpt1a), cholesterol metabolism (Hmgcr, Ldlr, Srebf2, Acat2), bile acid metabolism (Shp, Lrh-1, Hnf4a, Cyp7a1, Cyp27a1), triglyceride synthesis (Dgat1, Dgat2), lipoprotein assembly (Mttp) lipid transport (Abcg5, Abcg8, Abcb11, Cd36) were not altered significantly. Limonin did not induce significant changes in hepatic gene expression analyzed in this study.

　We studied the effects of chilling temperatures on the occurrence of injury and content composition of squash fruit to determine the optimum storage temperature and shelf life. Pitting of the squash fruit was confirmed to be a chilling injury. Pitting was not observed when stored at 10℃ for 91 days. Starch content and firmness of the squash fruit decreased as a result of an increase in storage temperature. Total sugar content increased during storage. In particular, when stored at 5℃, the total sugar content of squash fruit was higher than that at 10℃ and 15℃. It has been suggested that the sweetness can be possibly increased within a short period (while avoiding chilling injury) by storage at 5℃ for 30 days. Considering the chilling injury and variation in content composition during long-term storage, it has been proposed that the optimum storage temperature of squash fruit is 10℃ for 64 days.

　To determine the process suitability of three newly introduced, tasty apple cultivars, 'Shinano Sweet', 'Akibae', and 'Shinano Gold', in Nagano Prefecture, Japan, cloud-type juices were obtained from these apple cultivars and two other major apple cultivars, 'Fuji' and 'Tsugaru'apples. With respect to color, 'Shinano Sweet' was low on the a (red) scale and high on the b (yellow) scale of the color meter, and it received a high score for its appearance. From the sweetness perspective, 'Shinano Sweet' received the second highest score, after 'Fuji' apple. 'Akibae' showed relatively high acidity compared to the two major cultivars and a better sugar/acid balance. 'Akibae'received a high score for flavor, acidity, and overall judgment on the basis of a sensory evaluation. 'Shinano Gold' showed slow brown discoloration and a good sugar/acid balance. The sensory evaluation results of 'Shinano Gold' and 'Akibae'were similar, and 'Shinano Gold' received a high score for flavor, acidity, and overall judgment. These results confirmed the high process suitability of the three new apple cultivars.

　Camu-camu (Myrciaria dubia) grows in the upstream Amazon, and has fruit with particularly high vitamin C content. Camu-camu fruit juice is used industrially in various processed foods; however, large amounts of residual peel and seed are discarded during juice production. We have been investigating functional constituents in the residual peel and seed as a potential resource of functional foods and food additives. We previously reported that the n-hexane extract of camu-camu peel has strong antimicrobial activity against Staphylococcus aureus. Our further investigation resulted in the isolation of rhodomyrtone, an acylphloroglucinol, and its structure was characterized by spectral data such as ¹H- and ¹³C-nuclear magnetic resonance (NMR). As reported previously, rhodomyrtone showed strong antimicrobial activities, and its minimum inhibitory concentration (MIC) values against six Gram-positive bacteria (0.78-1.56μg/mℓ for all bacteria) were lower than that of kanamycin (1.56-6.25μg/mℓ) used as a positive standard. Rhodomyrtone has attracted particular attention because it showed remarkable antimicrobial activities against methicillin-resistant S. aureus. The presence of rhodomyrtone in camu-camu peel may be significant for the camu-camu fruit industry.