Journal of Nutritional Science and Vitaminology

The development of atopic dermatitis (AD) involves multiple factors. Three such factors are particularly important in AD onset: immune abnormalities, skin barrier dysfunction, and itching. Many studies report that an imbalance between helper T (Th)1 and Th2 cells causes AD. Apple pectin, a prebiotic, has preventative effects in other allergic diseases (e.g., bronchial asthma and AD), but its potential benefits in AD are unclear. In this study, we investigated the effect of oral apple pectin administration on skin inflammation in an AD mouse model and examined changes in T cells involved in AD...

We investigated the effects of short-term dietary zinc deficiency on zinc and calcium metabolism. Four-week-old male Wistar rats were divided into two pair-fed groups for a 1-wk treatment: zinc-deficient group (ZD, 1 ppm); control group (PF, 30 ppm). The mRNA expression of zinc transporters, such as Slc39a (Zip) 4, Zip5, Zip10, and Slc30a (ZnT) 1, in various tissues (liver, kidney, and duodenum) quickly responded to dietary zinc deficiency. Although there was no significant difference in serum calcium concentrations between the PF and ZD groups, serum 1,25-dihydroxycholecalciferol (1,25(OH)2 D3 ) was higher in the ZD group than in the PF group...

The major characteristic of type 2 diabetes is insulin resistance, which is associated with plasma level of 12-hydroxylated bile acids (BAs) in humans. In this study, we investigated whether the rise of enterohepatic 12-hydroxylated BAs associates with glucose tolerance and/or insulin secretion using rats fed a diet supplemented with cholic acid (CA) at a level of 0.5 g/kg diet. Almost no increase was observed in plasma insulin in response to the intraperitoneal glucose administration in the CA-fed rats despite the significant increase of plasma insulin in control with the same treatment...

Wrestlers have a risk of relative energy deficiency in sports because they believe that they can gain an advantage over their opponents by temporarily adopting weight-making strategies even women. However, precise methods of making weight and the effect of manipulating body mass (BM) on health and performance in female wrestlers have not been reported. Our study aimed to report a case of weight making in a world-class female wrestler, who won the world competition seven times in 5-y and had oligomenorrhea. We obtained the BM, blood, urine, and saliva samples, hand grip strength, subjective condition a month before the match (baseline), and 3-d before the match (day-3), and food and physical activity records during baseline and 10 d before the competition...

Brain-derived neurotrophic factor (BDNF) is a neurotrophin that plays fundamental roles in neuronal survival and synaptic plasticity. Its upregulation in the brain can effectively prevent and treat central nervous system (CNS) diseases, including depression, Alzheimer's disease (AD), and Parkinson's disease (PD). BDNF is synthesized in various peripheral tissues as well as in the brain and can be transported from peripheral circulation into the brain through the blood-brain barrier. Therefore, foods that upregulate BDNF in peripheral tissues may be beneficial in preventing and treating these CNS diseases...

Maintenance of appropriate muscle mass is necessary for good quality of life as skeletal muscles play critical roles in locomotion, metabolic homeostasis, and thermogenesis. Polyamines are essential metabolites that regulate several important cellular functions. In C57BL6 mice who underwent sciatic nerve transection of the hind limb, compensatory muscle hypertrophy is enhanced by the administration of polyamines. However, the action mechanisms of polyamines in muscle hypertrophy remain unclear. Here, we isolated PA YEAST SC-1, a polyamine-rich Saccharomyces cerevisiae, from Baker's yeast...

Nutritional disorders in patients with chronic obstructive pulmonary disease (COPD) are associated with cachexia, sarcopenia, and weight loss. In particular, weight loss is a prognostic factor in COPD independent of pulmonary function, and energy malnutrition is a contributing factor. Frequent exacerbation hospitalization is also a prognostic factor for COPD patients. The impact of energy malnutrition on adverse events such as exacerbation hospitalization is unknown, and this study aimed to investigate that...

Antioxidant vitamin intake has been reported to be associated with decreased risk of cardiovascular diseases. To date, however, no study has examined the association between antioxidant vitamin intake and LOX-index, a predictive biomarker of cardiovascular disease. We investigated the cross-sectional association between antioxidant vitamin (α-carotene, β-carotene, α-tocopherol, and vitamin C) intake and LOX-index in Japanese municipal workers. Participants were 346 workers (171 men and 175 women aged 19-71 y) who received a health check-up and participated in a nutrition and health survey...

Dietary Reference Intakes for Japanese provide target values for proteins, fats, and carbohydrates. However, they do not provide information on reference values for amino acids (AAs) and fatty acids (FAs), which determine the quality of foods in detail. Therefore, we evaluated AAs and FAs using the Food Exchange Lists-Dietary Guidance for Persons with Diabetes (in Japanese) Utilization, Second Edition Sample Menus and Practice (FELD) as an ideal Japanese diet. Based on FELD, 15 different daily meal patterns were employed with combinations of three levels of carbohydrates %energy (high carbohydrate [HC], 60%; middle carbohydrate [MC], 55%; and low carbohydrate [LC], 50%) and five levels of energy (1,200-2,000 kcal)...

In this study, we investigated the effects of a porcine liver protein hydrolysate (PLH) diet on lipid metabolism in Otsuka Long-Evans Tokushima Fatty (OLETF) rats, a model of type II diabetes. OLETF rats (20-wk-old males) were pair-fed with either a PLH diet containing 20% PLH or a casein diet for 14 wk. Dietary PLH significantly lowered serum cholesterol and phospholipid concentrations, mainly by decreasing low-density lipoprotein and high-density lipoprotein fractions. Fecal cholesterol was significantly increased in the PLH diet group; however, the total bile acid concentration in the feces was not significantly different between the groups...

Niacin is involved in many biological reactions relating energy metabolism, redox reactions, DNA repair and longevity. Since niacin deficiency has been reported in alcoholic patients, and niacin coenzyme NAD is used as substrate to dehydrogenate ethanol in the liver, ethanol consumption can be a factor to impair niacin nutritional status. We have recently established the niacin insufficient model mice using kynurenine 3-monooxygenase knock out (KMO-/- ) mice with niacin-limited diet, which lack the de novo NAD synthesis pathway from tryptophan...

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Branched-chain α-ketoacid dehydrogenase (BCKDH) complex is a rate-limiting enzyme in branched-chain amino acid catabolism and is subject to inactivation via phosphorylation by BCKDH kinase (BDK). In the present study, we examined the effects of vitamin D-deficiency on hepatic BCKDH and BDK activities in rats. Rats fed a vitamin D-deficient diet long-term showed a slight but significant decrease in plasma Ca concentration, which was associated with an elevation of BCKDH activity and a decrease in BDK activity...

In this study, Continuous Glucose Monitoring, a 24-h continuous sensor measurement of the glucose level, was performed on 35 female university students in their 20s. The results showed that 51.4% of the subjects had at least one episode of low sensor glucose level <54 mg/dL during the entire measurement period. This severe low glucose level condition was defined as lower sensor glucose values and it tended to occur more frequently during the early morning hours, especially from 3:00 am to 7:00 am. There were no significant differences in the BMI, the average number of steps, the total energy intake, the energy ratio of proteins, fats, or carbohydrates, or the alcohol intake between the lower sensor glucose values occurrence and the non-lower sensor glucose values occurrence groups...

Previous studies conducted have reported higher mortality and heart failure readmission rates in heart failure patients with selenium deficiency. However, these studies included patients with advanced heart failure, which may have confounded the relationship between selenium deficiency and heart failure pathology. This study aimed to explore the clinical characteristics and outcomes of heart failure patients with selenium deficiency who were newly diagnosed and hospitalized for heart failure in Japan. A total of 256 patients, who were admitted to our hospital for the first time due to heart failure, were included in this study...

This study examined the relationship between parents' self-efficacy for preparing meals combining the five food groups (grains, fish and meat, vegetables, milk, and fruits) and the dietary intake of their children who were elementary and junior high school students belonging to a sports club. A total of 365 children completed a self-reported dietary intake form, and their parents completed a questionnaire on self-efficacy for preparing meals combining the five food groups. Logistic regression analysis was conducted to assess the relationship between the children's intake of the combined five food groups and parents' self-efficacy score, with frequency of meals combining the five food groups as the dependent variable and the self-efficacy score as the independent variable...

Metabolic syndrome (MetS) poses increased risks for non-communicable diseases, increasing all-cause mortality, disability, and healthcare costs. Beta-carotene as the major carotenoid is identified to play an important role in the pathophysiology of MetS. The present study aimed to investigate the association between serum beta-carotene levels with metabolic syndrome and metabolic risk factors among a cohort of teachers in Peninsular Malaysia. This cross-sectional study investigated a sub-sample of 645 serum samples which were randomly selected for beta-carotene determination...

Few reports have described sarcopenic obesity in patients with stroke. This study aimed to investigate the prevalence of sarcopenic obesity, as defined by the European Society for Clinical Nutrition and Metabolism (ESPEN) and European Association for the Study of Obesity (EASO) consensus statement, in patients with acute stroke and to determine whether it was associated with improved physical function at discharge. This retrospective cohort study was conducted from May 2020 to November 2021 in patients with acute stroke...