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The intake of flavonols, flavones and isoflavones by Japanese women was calculated from our food-phytochemical composition table. The relationship between intake of these phytochemicals and various anthropometric and blood chemistry data was analyzed in a cross-sectional study. The subjects were 115 women volunteers, aged 29-78 y, living in the northern part of Japan. Each subject completed a 3-d dietary record and received a health check up, including urine and blood sampling for biochemical analysis. Total mean intakes of flavonoids (sum of flavonols and flavones) and isoflavones were 16.7 and 47.2 mg/d, respectively. The major source of flavonoids was onions (45.9%) and that of isoflavones was tofu (37.0%). Total intake of isoflavones exceeded that of other dietary antioxidants, such as flavonoids, carotenoids (3.5 mg/d) and vitamin E (8.2 mg/d), and was approximately one half of the vitamin C intake (109 mg/d). The total intake of flavonoids was inversely correlated with the plasma total cholesterol concentration (TC) (r = -0.236, P: < 0.05) and plasma LDL cholesterol concentration (LDL-C) (r = -0.220, P: < 0.05), after the adjustment for age, body mass index and total energy intake. As a single component, quercetin was inversely correlated with both TC (r = -0.261, P: < 0.01) and LDL-C (r = -0. 263, P: < 0.01). Among Japanese, flavonoid and isoflavone intake is the main component among nonnutrient phytochemicals with antioxidant potential in the diet. These results suggest that a high consumption of both flavonoids and isoflavones by Japanese women may contribute to their low incidence of coronary heart disease compared with women in other countries. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Objectives: The Dietary Record by Cooked Dishes (DRcd) method, which enables simple assessment of food and nutrient intake, is unique because it uses a nutrient database of cooked dishes. Although this method has been validated among the rural Japanese populations for which the database was developed, the applicability of the DRcd for other populations is unclear. In this study, we have examined the applicability of DRcd among an urban population., Methods: Subjects were selected from among patients who underwent cancer screening between 2004 and 2006 at the Research Center for Cancer Prevention and Screening, National Cancer Center, Japan. Subjects aged 40-69 years, who lived in Tokyo and the surrounding suburbs, were stratified into groups by sex and age. A total of 144 men and women agreed to participate in the study after random selection. Subjects were instructed to keep 4-day dietary records (4d-DR) of all consumed foods and beverages, including dish names, and all dishes were then coded using DRcd codes on the basis their names. The intake of 17 food groups and 40 nutrients was estimated using the dish-based nutrient composition table of the DRcd. Simultaneously, 4d-DR were used to calculate dietary intake independently, which served as a reference. We examined the applicability of the DRcd method using percentage difference and Pearson's correlation coefficients for intakes estimated using 4d-DR and the DRcd. Moreover, the results were compared to those of a previous study., Results: A total of 88% of the recorded dishes matched the dish codes of the DRcd database by name. Pearson's correlation coefficient scores of 0.6 or higher were observed for 12 and 10 food groups, and for 34 and 27 nutrients in men and women, respectively. Notably, the intake of majority of the nutrients tended to be underestimated, a difference that was more pronounced in men. In comparison with a previous study, the percentage differences and Pearson's correlation coefficient scores for intake tended to be lower in our study., Conclusion: As the correlation coefficients (0.6) were high for a majority of food groups and nutrients estimated by DRcd, the DRcd method may be applicable for urban populations. However, regional intake data may be necessary for the estimation of absolute value for the intake of some nutrients.

We estimated the intake of individual flavonoids in a cross sectional study and clarified the major sources contributing to the flavonoid levels in the middle-aged Japanese women by a 24-h weighed dietary record study. The subjects included in the study were 516 free-living women. Each subject completed a 24-h weighed dietary record and received a health check-up. We used the Functional Food Factor database for estimating the intake of 5 major flavonoid intakes, i.e. flavan-3-ols, isoflavones, flavonols, flavanones and flavones. The mean intake of flavan-3-ols, isoflavones, flavonols, flavanones and flavones was 1277, 216, 58, 31 and 15 micromol/d, respectively. The richest source of flavan-3-ols was green tea. The 3 major food sources of isoflavone were the processed soy foods and those of flavonol were the onion, moroheiya (nalta jute) and Japanese radish leaves. Grapefruit and citrus fruit juices were the major sources of flavanones, and tsurumurasaki (malabar spinach), green pepper and grapefruit were the main sources of flavone. Furthermore, analysis of sub-samples from middle-aged Japanese women indicated that there may be an association between flavonoid intake and the levels of oxidized LDL, which might be related to the incidence of cardiovascular diseases.

Dietary factors that influence platelet aggregation have not been fully clarified in humans. 63 Japanese women, aged 40-70 years old, completed one-day weighted dietary records, and received physical and laboratory examinations. Platelet aggregation was measured by 1.0 and 3.0 microM ADP induction. The results were analyzed with special reference to fatty acids. The short and medium chain fatty acid intake showed negative correlation with maximum percent of platelet aggregation induced by 1.0 microM ADP. Short and medium chain fatty acids in this study were mostly derived from milk and dairy products. Importance of short and medium chain fatty acid intake on platelet aggregation requires further study for prevention of cardiovascular diseases.

Objectives and Methods: The associations between dietary intake and urinary excretion of sodium (Na), potassium (K), calcium (Ca), magnesium (Mg), and phosphorus (P), and the major dietary sources derived from the urinary minerals were studied in a nutritional survey of 219 Japanese females aged 27-84 years, who completed anthropometric measurements, a one-day dietary record, and a 24 hr urine collection., Results: The minerals excreted in the urine were significantly and positively correlated with each other, in which Na excretion was correlated with K and Ca excretion (r = 0.490 and r = 0.482, respectively, p < 0.01) and Ca excretion was correlated with Mg excretion (r = 0.526, p < 0.01). The ratios of urinary exertion to dietary intake of Na, K, Ca, Mg, and P were 81.5%, 62.7%, 24.5%, 21.7%, and 56.1%, respectively. The dietary intake and the urinary excretion of the minerals expressed per body weight (kg) were significantly and positively correlated (Na, r = 0.267; K, r = 0.460; Ca, r = 0.181; Mg, r = 0.245; P, r = 0.351, p < 0.01). Further examinations using chief component analysis for food intake showed several significant positive correlations, including between Na intake and the intake of vegetables, noodles, and seasonings (r = 0.332-0.381, p < 0.01); between K, Mg and P intake and the intake of vegetables, fruits, and potatoes (r = 0.332-0.533, p < 0.01); and between Ca intake and the intake of bread and dairy foods (r = 0.428, p < 0.01). In addition, significant positive associations were found between Na excretion and the intake of confectionaries, nuts, and seeds (r = 0.223, p < 0.01). Weak correlations were also found between K excretion and the intake of vegetables (r = 0.296, p < 0.01); between Ca and P excretion and the intake of meat, oil, and fats (r = 0.135, P < 0.05; r = 0.193, P < 0.01, respectively), and between Mg excretion and the intake of bread and dairy foods (r = 0.137, P < 0.05)., Conclusions: Findings from this study indicate that, while urinary excretion of Ca and Mg is unlikely to be a reliable biochemical marker of dietary intake, the levels of urinary excretion of Na, K, and P can be reflective of the intake of salt, vegetables, and meats, respectively. The urinary excretion of the minerals, particularly Na, K, and Ca, may be highly linked to salt intake in Japanese females.

More than 600 functional non-nutrient food factors (FFFs) in vegetables and fruits are considered to be effective for health promotion and disease prevention. However, phytochemicals studied thus far have failed to yield predicted results in randomized intervention studies. To assess the health effects of phytochemicals, a breakthrough in epidemiological methods was necessary. We constructed a database of non-nutrient FFFs to estimate the chemical classes and total amount of FFF-intake in order to facilitate estimation and calculation for nutritional research. So far, flavonoids, terpenoids, carotenoids, and sulfur compounds are included in our FFF database. We calculated the intake of various phytochemicals per capita from 79 subjects' dietary records by FFF database, and estimated that subjects ingested more than 10 micromole per day of phytochemicals such as catechin, isoflavones, isothiocyanate, ferulic acid, quercetin, cinnamic acid and chlorogenic acid. Chief component analysis yielded 12 factors (80%), of which only a few factors showed negative associations with serum cholesterol and LDL concentration. Many factors showed adverse relationships with liver function and serum triacylglycerol concentration. Weekly self-reported daily dietary records including name of dish, constituent foods and their amounts were separately collected for 6 months and analyzed in Kyoto women. Seasonal changes of phytochemical intake showed significant variation according to the seasonal consumption of fruits and vegetables. Lycopene increased in the summer due to watermelon and tomato intake in this season. Seasonal variation of FFF was quite large compared to the variation of macro- and micronutrients. Careful evaluation of the effects of FFF intake on health is necessary, especially when supplements are also consumed. The most effective combinations of FFF intake for human health could be elucidated by using our FFF-DB in conjunction with population-based cohort studies.

Phytoestrogens are defined to be plant chemicals that modify estrogenic effects in the body by binding to the estrogen receptors in mammals. Isoflavones, coumestane, lignan, and prenylflavones are examples of these, with isoflavones from soy foods and lignans from rye being a major dietary contribution. Mechanisms of cancer prevention by these phytoestrogens are reviewed, and human epidemiological studies, especially for breast and prostate cancers, are summarized and the results discussed.

Biological effects of dietary isoflavones, such as daidzein and genistein are of interest in preventive medicine. We estimated the dietary intake of isoflavones from dietary records and compared the values with the plasma concentrations and urinary excretions in Japanese middle-aged women. The dietary intake of daidzein and genistein was 64.6 and 111.6 mumol /day/capita (16.4 and 30.1 mg/day/capita), respectively. The isoflavones intake was mostly attributable to tofu, natto and miso. The median of plasma daidzein and genistein concentration was 72.46 and 206.09 nmol/L, respectively. The median of urinary excretion was 20.54 mumol /day for daidzein, 10.79 for genistein, 15.74 for equol and 1.64 for O-desmethylangolensin (O-DMA). Equol and O-DMA were excreted by 50% and 84% of all participants, respectively. Equol metabolizers were significantly lower the plasma and urinary daidzein and urinary O-DMA. The dietary intake of daidzein and genistein after the adjustment for total energy intake was significantly correlated with the urinary excretion (r = 0.365 for daidzein and r = 0.346 for genistein) and plasma concentration (r = 0.335 for daidzein and r = 0.429 for genistein). The plasma concentration of isoflavones was also significantly correlated with the urinary excretion. We conclude that in epidemiological studies measurements of plasma concentration or urinary excretion of these isoflavones are useful biomarkers of dietary intake and important for studies on their relation to human health.

The intake of flavonoids and isoflavonoids was estimated based upon a preliminary database of 40 food items, covering at least 80% of total food consumption. Fifty volunteer women in "I-City" recorded the weight of all dietary intake for 3 days in September 1996, and received a health check-up, as well as laboratory examination. The data was analyzed in relation to the various food factors. Average daily intake per capita of flavonoids was as follows: 4.9 mg kaempferol, 8.3 mg quercetin, 1.5 mg rutin, 0.6 mg myricetin, 0.3 mg luteolin, 0.01 mg myricitrin, 0.4 mg fisetin, and 0.3 mg eriodictyol. Total intake from vegetables and fruits was less than 10 mg 16.2 mg (range: 3.18-35.61 mg) and 23.27 mg (4.62-52.12 mg) of isoflavones, such as daidzein and genistein, respectively, were taken per day, and total isoflavone intake was 39.46 mg (7.80-87.73 mg). Chief component analysis on ingested vitamins, flavonoids and isoflavonoids was carried out. Factor 1 was mainly composed of flavonoids and antioxidant vitamins. Factor 1 was positively associated with age and the level of HDL cholesterol and negatively related to the level of triglycerides. Factor 2, which was mainly composed of isoflavonoids, was positively associated with creatinine and uric acid levels. So far, these factors did not show a significant association with bone density and other health indices, such as BMI and blood pressure.

Hepatic enzyme systems of drug metabolism and antioxidation were investigated in rats fed the complete human diets consumed in the two Japanese prefectures, Akita and Okinawa, where the incidence of cancers was quite different: Okinawa had the lowest and Akita the highest age-adjusted mortality rate. In rats fed the human diet consumed in Okinawa, hepatic glutathione S-transferase activity was higher and lipid peroxide content was lower than in rats fed the diet consumed in Akita. These data might indicate that the number and/or quantity of the dietary components attributed to the detoxification of carcinogens and the scavenging reactive carcinogen species was much higher in the foods consumed in the population having lower cancer mortality rate.