The fatty acid composition among the total lipids present in human milk was determined by argentation thin-layer chromatography and capillary column gas-liquid chromatography. Individual samples of human milk were obtained from 16 mothers early (3 to 5 days, colostrum) and from 30 mothers later (4 to 8 weeks, mature milk) after full-term delivery. Including saturates, monoenes and polyenes, as well as odd-number and branched-chain fatty acids, 52 fatty acids were detected and identified. C16: 0, C18: 1ω9 and C18 : 2ω6 were major fatty acids, each of them accounting for more than 10% of total fatty acids. In comparison with mature milk, colostrum was significantly characterized by a lower level of medium-chain fatty acids and a higher level of polyenes such as C20: 3, C20: 4 and C22: 4 in the ω-6 series and C20: 3, C20: 5, C22: 5 and C22: 6 in the ω-3 series. Total ω-3 polyenes in colostrum, moreover, were higher than those in mature milk, but total ω-6 polyenes showed no difference. The ratio of total ω-6 to total ω-3 polyenes, recognized to be important in fatty acid metabolism, was 4.43 in colostrum and 6.43 in mature milk, respectively.
A high correlation between C18: 2co6 and C18: 3w3 was observed in human milk : both acids reflected the diet to a remarkable degree, and showed a high proportion of each family of acids.
From these results, it appears that the polyenoic derivatives of C18: 2ω6 and C18: 3ω3 in human milk are valuable for infant nutrition.

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We investigated the effect of enhancement of complement C3 induced by lentinan on host resistance against some kinds of bacterial infection in a malnourished state. In this phenomenon, it is considered that activated C3b is closely related to the activation of macrophages due to the binding of complement receptor 3, which is present on the surface of phagocytic and cytotoxic cells. We have developed a novel method using immune adherence hemagglutination (IAHA) patterns to assess the formation of C3b and iC3b in vitro. The effect of complement activators was also evaluated. C3b formation activity in sera was measured as the IAHA pattern in the presence of dithiothreitol (DTT), which prevents iC3b formation by factors I and H and/or CR1. iC3b formation was defined as the range of difference between the end titers of IAHA with or without the use of DTT. The administration of 2mg/kg and 6 mg/kg of Zn-chlorophyllin and 2mg/kg of lentinan was able to enhance C3 levels and C3b and iC3b formation activities in malnourished rats. The iC3b formation activities were closely related to the phagocytic activities of peritoneal macrophages. We also confirmed that the CR3 site on the surface of monocytes blocked by OKM1 monoclonal anti-CR3 antibody reduced phagocytosis of glutaraldehyde-treated sheep erythrocyte antibody-complement iC3b complexes (GHEAiC3b). These results suggest that the phagocytic activity or clearance capacity of macrophages is enhanced through the interaction of macrophages and enhanced iC3b formation.

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The present study was conducted to investigate the changes in serum lipids, lipoprotein pattern and fatty acid composition of each lipoprotein fraction in hypercholesterolemic rats fed on different types of oil diets rich in the n-3, n-6 and n-9 series of fatty acids. The results obtained were as follows; 1. The serum cholesterol level in rats fed on fish oils, corn oil and perilla oil diets was decreased significantly compared with that in rats fed on an olive oil diet. Serum HDL-cholesterol in the corn oil group was increased significantly in comparison with the olive oil group. 2. In serum lipoprotein patterns, the proportion of HDL was larger in rats fed on oil diets containing n-3 and n-6 fatty acids, and that of VLDL was smaller than in rats fed on olive oil diets (n-9). 3. There were remarkable differences among the groups in the composition of polyunsaturated fatty acids in each lipoprotein fraction, reflecting the differences in fatty acid composition of the dietary oils.

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The effects of maternal dietary fatty acid composition on milk fatty acids in rats were evaluated. Female rats, during pregnancy and lactation, were fed on one of eight diets: a stock diet with 5% various added proportions of fatty acid ethylester mixture of C16: 0, C18: 1ω9 and C18: 3ω3 in addition to C18: 2ω6 or C18: 3ω6. Increases in the C18: 1ω9, C18: 2ω6 and C18: 3ω3 contents of rat milk apparently reflected an increase in the intake of these acids. A significantly high correlation was found between the contents of these acids in milk and their intakes, although the C16: 0 content was independent of dietary C16: 0. Increase in the intakes of C18: 3ω6 and C18: 3ω3 produced a steady increase in the content of each family of polyunsaturated fatty acids (PUFA) in milk, and the content of ω6-PUFA in milk showed a more significant correlation with dietary C18: 3ω6 than with C18: 2ω6. This suggested that C18: 3ω6 in the diet was more easily metabolized to PUFA in milk, than C18: 2ω6 by lactating rats. The contents of C8: 0, C10: 0, C12: 0 and C14: 0 in the milk of rats fed on a fatfree diet were significantly increased as a result of endogenous fatty acid synthesis within the mammary gland, stimulated by the fat-free diet.

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The contents of general nutrients in dried“naruto wakame” (Undaria pinnatifida) were investigated and the results obtained were as follows ; Crude ash: 16-44%, Protein: 7.5-24.2%, Lipid: 1.4-6.8%, Carbohydrate: 37-49%. The contents of minerals in dried“naruto wakame”were spread over the following ranges: Fe: 6.3-30mg%, Ca: 647-1, 176mg%, I: 95-157ppm, P: 237-425mg%, Mg: 163-312mg%, although they varied with the size and part of the sample. Of the total I in dried“naruto wakame”, 28-31% was extracted in the first step with warm distilled water, 11-12% in the second step with ethanol, none by treatment with benzene, and 57-59% of the total remained in the residue. The extraction rates of minerals from“naruto wakame”during immersion treatment with artificial digestion fluid for 30-120min at 37°C were approximately as follows; Crude ash: 85±10%, Fe: 45±29%, Ca: 68+21%, I: 61±6%, P: 67±19%, Mg: 77±22%. Fe, I and P were extracted more easily by digestion fluid than by water at the same pH, but Ca and Mg were extracted to the same extent.

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It is known that an alkaline solution of ethyl caffeate yields a green color product in the presence of nitrogen-containing compounds such as amino acids or proteins. In this investigation basic and applied studies on this greening phenomenon were conducted. On heating, ethyl caffeate reacted with amino acids having an aromatic ring or an imidazole ring as a side-chain to rapidly yield a greencolored product with a maximal light absorbance at 695-700nm in the visible range. Amino acids with an aliphatic primary amine resulted in equally rapid greening, but λmax was observed at 675-676nm. Amino acids with a branched chain at the β carbon appeared to have poor reactivity with ethyl caffeate, whereas cysteine with a reducible thiol group, and proline, in which the α amino group is substituted, did not react completely. In the case of proteins, it appeared that the amino groups of lysine residues reacted with ethyl caffeate to form a green-colored product on protein molecules. Further investigation demonstrated that this reaction could be utilized for the quantitative estimation of very small amounts of proteins. The addition of keto acid to a mixture of ethyl caffeate and nitrogen-containing compounds resulted in an increase in the corresponding green product.

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New methods for vitamin Bi assay were devised using Euglena gracilis z and compared with HPLC analysis in the determination of vitamin contents of certain foods. 14C-Vitamin Bi dilution method; vitamin B1 was assayed on the basis of the 14C-vitamin Bi dilution effect by the addition of radio-inert vitamin B1 during vitamin B1 uptake by vitamin B1-limited Euglena cells (assayable range; 3-500ng). Vitamin B1 bioassay using vitamin B1-deficient Euglena cells; vitamin Bi was assayed by estimating the increase in cell number 24h after addition of vitamin Bi to the deficient cells (assayable range; 6-70 ng). Each of the assay systems showed high sensitivity and good reproducibility, as with HPLC.

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Three-day diets were recorded (weighing method) by 39 volunteer housewives (35-62 years of age), who were participants in the adult disease prevention program promoted by a local health center located in a suburban area of Tokyo. Nutrient intakes for 22 items in the records were calculated based on Standard Tables of Food Composition in Japan (4th revised Ed., 1982), and correlation coefficients among these items were computed statistically. From the viewpoint of mineral nutrition research, an indicator of “salt-free ash” (SFA: values obtained by excluding sodium as sodium chloride from ash) was introduced in this analysis. The intakes of SFA showed strong correlations with several components including protein, potassium and iron. These results, in combination with the earlier finding that SFA was also correlated well with dietary magnesium content, may indicate the applicability of SFA as an indicator, at least for potassium, iron and magnesium, in nutritional assessment.

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Daily intake levels of sodium and potassium by 6 housewives aged 32 to 38 years, living in Osaka metropolitan district were determined by both chemical analysis and calculation. Their diets were collected throughout a one-week period by the duplicate portion method. All foodstuffs were weighed prior to cooking. The calculated values were obtained using the Japanese Standard Food Composition Table (4th Ed.). The mean value of daily sodium intake was 6.36g by chemical analysis and 4. 10 g by calculation. No correlation was found between analyzed values and the corresponding calculated values for sodium. The mean value of daily sodium intake obtained by chemical analysis was significantly greater than that obtained by calculation by paired t-test analysis (t=7.284, p<0.001). The mean value of daily potassium intake was 2.32 g by chemical analysis and 2.67g by calculation. Positive correlation was found between analyzed values and the corresponding calculated values for potassium (r=0.687, p<0.001). The mean value of daily potassium intake obtained by calculation was significantly greater than that obtained by chemical analysis by paired t-test analysis (t=3.263, p<0.01). The average ratio (mEq/mEq) of sodium to potassium was 4.71 by chemical analysis and 2.67 by calculation. Positive correlation was found between analyzed values of daily sodium intake and analyzed values of daily potassium intake (r=0.530, p<0.001). Analyzed values for sodium and potassium were both significantly correlated with meal size (Na: r=0.530; p<0.001, K: r=0.618; p<0.001).

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The selenium contents of wheat and soybean products consumed in Japan were determined byfluorometric analysis. Whole wheat and soybean samples, grown at various sites in Japan, showed low selenium values. The mean values were 0.02 (wheat, n=5) and 0.03 (soybean, n=18) μg Se/g, respectively. High selenium values (0.30 to 1.15μg Se/g) were found in imported American or Canadian hard or durum wheats. Australian wheat showed moderate selenium levels (0.07μg Se/g), and American soft wheat showed the lowest level (0.02μg Se/g). Selenium in commercial wheat products was also determined. The hard type of wheat nour, bread and Japanese spaghetti, produced from the American or Canadian hard or durum wheats, showed high selenium values (0.19 to 0.79μg Se/g). Similarly to wheat, the selenium contents of imported American soybeans were higher than those of other soybean samples. However, most commercial soybean products sold in local retail shops in Japan contained comparatively Iow seleRium levels (0.01 to 0.05μgSe/g). Based on the present results and the National Nutrition Suryey, selenium intake from wheat products by Japanese was estimated to be around 20μg/day/capita. These results indicate that wheat products produced from imported American or Canadian hard or durum wheat are a major source of selenium in the Japanese diet.

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The addition of yeast extract stimulated fermentation or the formation of lactic acid in the preparation of fermented milk by Lactobacillus helveticus B-1. The stimulant present in the yeast extract was purified by column and thinlayer chromatography and identified as serine. Serine accelerated acid formation at a relatively low concentration (50μg/ml). Although cysteine and homocysteine were not detectable in the yeast extract, these amino acids also promoted fermentation at a higher concentration (>50μg/ml).

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