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Wheat bran (WB) is a low-value by-product of the wheat milling industry. Solid-state fermentation with Rhizopus oligosporus is performed to improve WB's nutritional quality (RH). Twenty-five mice (11-week-old C57BL/6N male mice) were divided into three groups. The first group was fed a control diet (n = 8), the second group a 10% WB-supplemented diet (n = 8), and the last group had a 10% RH-supplemented diet (n = 9). The diet treatment was administered for 4 days before dextran sodium sulfate (DSS, 3% in drinking water) was administered for 9 days. RH supplementation prevented bodyweight loss and reduced the disease activity index in mice. An increase in the level of SCFAs in mouse intestines was detected post-RH supplementation, suggesting that SCFAs might have contributed to its anti-colitis effect. Metabolome analysis was conducted to explore other bioactive compounds in RH. R. oligosporus fermentation significantly increased the amounts of ergothioneine, arginine, branched-chain amino acids, and adenosine in wheat bran. All of these compounds are known to have antioxidant and anti-inflammatory capacities. These bioactive compounds might also have contributed to the RH's ability to ameliorate DSS-induced colitis. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Since the 1970s, the utility of nailfold capillaroscopy (NFC) in diagnosing rheumatological disorders such as systemic sclerosis has been well established. Further studies have also shown that NFC can detect non-rheumatic diseases such as diabetes, glaucoma, dermatitis, and Alzheimer disease. In the past decade, nailfold capillary morphological changes have also been reported as symptoms of unhealthy lifestyle habits such as poor diet, smoking, sleep deprivation, and even psychological stress, all of which contribute to slow blood flow. Therefore, studying the relationships between the morphology of nailfold capillaries and lifestyle habits has a high potential to indicate unhealthy states or even pre-disease conditions. Simple, inexpensive, and non-invasive methods such as NFC are important and useful for routine medical examinations. The present study began with a systematic literature search of the PubMed database followed by a summary of studies reporting the assessment of morphological changes detected by NFC, and a comprehensive review of NFC's utility in clinical diagnosis and improving unhealthy dietary lifestyles. It culminates in a summary of dietary and lifestyle health promotion strategy, assessed based on NFC and other related measurements that indicate healthy microvascular blood flow and endothelial function. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

We investigated the role of zinc in food intake regulation using rats during early-stage zinc deficiency without decreased zinc concentrations in plasma and tissues. Plasma, liver, and hypothalamic zinc concentrations were not affected in male Sprague-Dawley rats fed a zinc-deficient (Zn-Def) diet for 3 d compared with the pair-fed control group, which was fed a zinc-sufficient diet to the intake of the Zn-Def diet. Zinc sulfate at a dose of 19 [micro]mol/kg body weight was orally or intraperitoneally (i.p.) administered to rats fed a Zn-Def diet for 3d and food intake was measured. We found that zinc stimulated food intake after oral but not i.p. administration. The mRNA expression of neuropeptide Y (NPY) and orexin in the hypothalamus significantly increased 3 h after oral but not i.p. administration of zinc. Pretreatment with an antagonist for the NPY [Y.sub.1] receptor or the orexin [OX.sub.1] receptor blocked orexigenic activity after oral administration of zinc. The stimulation of food intake by oral administration of zinc was abolished by vagotomy. Taken together, orally administered zinc may stimulate food intake via orexigenic peptides coupled to the afferent vagal stimulation in rats after short- term treatment with a Zn-Def diet.

We previously showed that [alpha]-eleostearic acid ([alpha]-ESA; 9Z11E13E-18:3) is converted to conjugated linoleic acid (CLA; 9,11-18:2) in the liver and plasma of rats that were given diets including 1% [alpha]-ESA for 4 wk. In this study, we investigated this phenomenon in detail. First, the chemical structure of CLA produced by [alpha]-ESA administration was determined. After [alpha]-ESA was orally administered to rats, CLA in rat liver was isolated by HPLC. The positional and geometric isomerism was determined using GC-EI/MS and [sup.13.C]-NMR, respectively, and the CLA. generated in rats after [alpha]-ESA feeding was confirmed to be 9Z11E-CLA. Next, the concentrations of [alpha]-ESA and CLA were determined 0, 3, 6, and 24 h after oral administration of [alpha]-ESA to rats. Moreover, we also investigated whether enteric bacteria are involved in the conversion of [alpha]-ESA to CLA using germ-free rats. [alpha]-ESA was orally administered to germ-free and normal rats and [alpha]-ESA and CLA were detected in the organs of both groups. In addition, to confirm that this reaction was enzyme-mediated, [alpha]-ESA was reacted with tissue homogenates (liver, kidney, and small intestine mucous) and coenzymes (NADH, [NAD.sup.+], NADPH, and [NADP.sup.+]), and the enzyme activities were estimated from the amount of CLA produced. CLA was detected when [alpha]-ESA was reacted with liver, kidney, and small intestine mucous homogenates and a coenzyme (NADPH). These results indicated that [alpha]-ESA is converted to 9Z11E-CLA in rats by a [DELTA]13-saturation reaction carried out by an NADPH-dependent enzyme. KEY WORDS: * conjugated linoleic acid * conjugated linolenic acid * eleostearic acid * germ-free rat * GC-EI/MS

Antibiotic novobiocin is capable of generating cation channels in lipid bilayers and increases salt taste response in rats through regulation of amiloxide-sensitive sodium channels. Single fibers of the rat chorda tympani nerve aid the examination of the role of novobiocin in salt taste transduction. Novobiocin increases the responses of N-type fiber to 100 mM NaCl but does not influence the response of E-type fibers to either 100 mM KCl or 100 mM NaCl.