Kazuko Hirai

Tocopherol and fluorescence levels in deep-frying oil and their measurement for oil assessment

This study examined how tocopherol retention is affected by the presence or absence of food coatings, and also tested the measurement of fluorescent substance levels in cooking oil to evaluate oil deterioration. Potato slices were tempura-fried (with a coating) or french-fried (without a coating). The three tocopherol isomers decreased with heating time, and better retention was found in the tempura process. The decomposition rates of tocopherol were in the order γ> δ ≥α for the three isomers for both processes over repeated fryings. The fluorescence of frying oil increased 15-and 17-fold after tempura-and french-frying, respectively, for 32 consecutive times. Changes in the amounts of tocopherol and the fluorescence correlated well with the changes found by the chemiluminescent intensity and five conventional methods of oil quality measurement. These results indicated that tocopherol retention is affected by the food coating, and that measurements of vitamin E loss and fluorescence increase in oil should be useful for assessing the progressive deterioration of frying oil with its repeated usage.

The health system in Nepal—An introduction

We present here a study on the health system in Nepal. Approximately two-thirds of the health problems in Nepal are infectious diseases. Epidemics occur frequently with a high rate of morbidity and mortality and there are occasional outbreaks of infectious diseases of unknown etiology. In addition, the rapid rate of HIV infection in the Indian sub-continent is likely to add a new dimension of opportunistic infections. Until now, the Health System introduced as the General Health Plan in 1956 has been expanded by focusing on primary health care, and a comprehensive network-like Health System has been developed; the most basic unit is a Sub-Health Post or Health Post in each Village Development Committee area. However, the expansion of the Health System has not been matched by an expansion in the domestive resources, workers and supplies, and the available resources are not efficiently distributed. In addition, insufficient resources available for preventive and promotive medicine and the occurrence of non-infectious diseases such as cancer and cardiovascular diseases has been increasing. The Government recently introduced a Health Policy encouraging the private sector to invest in the production of health workers and in providing quality health services. As a result, several private health institutions have been founded and are expected to contribute to the development of the human resources required by Nepal.

Effect of intestinal helminth infection on retinol and β-carotene status among rural Nepalese.

Intestinal helminth infection and its effect on vitamin A, retinol and β-carotene, was studied in 224 [145 children (aged less than 15 years) of Okharpauwa Village Development Committee (VDC) (Nuwakot district) and 79 inhabitants (mainly adults) of Boya VDC (Bhojpur district)] subjects living at an altitude of 2000 m. Direct smear technique in duplicate was applied to detect helminth eggs. Most common helminth detected was Ascaris lumbricoides followed by Trichuris trichiura in Okharpauwa VDC and by hookworm in Boya VDC, respectively. Mixed helminth infections were relatively low (7.3% in Okharpauwa VDC and 11.1% in Boya VDC). The retinol and β-carotene were estimated by high-performance liquid chromatography (HPLC). The helminth eggs positive children of both sexes in Okharpauwa VDC had significantly lower serum retinol concentration compared with their helminth eggs negative counterparts (P 0.05) but in β-carotene level (P <0.05). Results suggest that deworming contribute significantly in the prevention of vitamin A deficiency associated morbidity and mortality among children in these intestinal helminth prevalent rural communities in Nepal.

Selenium intake based on representative diets in Japan, 1957 to 1989

Abstract Daily selenium (Se) intake during the past few decades in Japan was studied to obtain information toward establishing the daily selenium requirement. Three daily model menus of each year were prepared based on the daily per capita consumption of foods and nutrient intake from national surveys conducted in Japan in 1957, 1966, 1977, 1983 and 1989. The average daily intakes of Se found were 98 ± 33, 138 ± 7, 163 ± 31, 120 ± 18 and 129 ± 23 μg per capita, respectively. During this period, the decrease in Se intake from cereals was compensated by an increase in the intake from animal products: meats, eggs and dairy products. Thus, the amount of daily Se intake did not change markedly, averaging 129 ± 32 μg per capita during 1957 to 1989.

Food consumption and nutrient intake and their relationship among nepalese

Abstract The dietary nutrient intake of persons aged 10–72 years (23 males and 30 females) was investigated using the 24-hour recall method living southeastern Nepal. The mean daily consumption of food averaged 433 and 437 g of cereal, 25 and 20 g of fat, 59 and 60 g of colored vegetable for males and females, respectively. For the majority of the subjects, milk and dairy product (249 and 213 g for males and females, respectively) was almost the sole source of food of animal origin. The levels of energy intake (2427 and 2275 kcal for males and females, respectively), protein (63.0 and 57.3 g), and vitamin B 1 (2.16 and 2.04 mg) were related to the level of consumption of cereal (r=0.89, r=0.77 and r=90, p 2 (1.06 and 0.80 mg) were correlated with the protein intake (r=0.57, r=0.87 and r=0.60, p

High Toxoplasma Seroprevalence Associated with Meat Eating Habits of Locals in Nepal

A serosurvey of Toxoplasma gondii infection in apparently healthy subjects (n=404) living in Achham (n=215) and Dang (n=189) districts in western Nepal was carried out. An interview with 249 participants, each representing a household, was also conducted. This interview pertained to their meat eating habits and the keeping of cats in their houses. Toxoplasma antibodies were detected by using the microlatex agglutination test. The overall seroprevalence was 65.3% with no significant difference in the two districts (Achham: 66.9% and Dang: 63.5%) included (p=0.546). Females and the Indo-Aryan ethnic-group showed marginally higher prevalence compared with their male (p=0.545) and Tibeto-Burman (p=0.075) counterparts. The majority of the infections was found to have occurred during childhood. The frequency of meat eating in western and eastern regions differed greatly (p=0.000) with the people in the eastern region being frequent meat eaters than those in the western region. About one-third of the subjects, all Indo-Aryans, in the western region had the raw meat eating habit but none in the eastern region. Approximately 7.0% of households in both western and eastern regions kept cats. The present findings demonstrated a typical role of meat eating habits of people in the high Toxoplasma seroprevalence in Nepal.

Lower eicosapentaenoic acid and higher arachidonic acid levels in Sera of young adults in the Netherlands than in Japan.

To survey risk factors in coronary heart disease, we compared serum fatty acid composition and lipids for university students in Japan (33 males and 29 females) and in the Netherlands (20 males and 19 females). No significant differences were found between the mean levels of cholesterol (Chol) and triglycerides (TG) between the subjects in the two countries. The mean levels of polyunsaturated fatty acid (PUFA), monounsaturated fatty acid (MUFA) and saturated fatty acid (SFA) of Japanese students were similar to those of the Dutch students. In both countries, the levels of Chol showed a positive correlation with the levels of PUFA, n-6 PUFA, linoleic acid (C18:2n-6), and arachidonic acid (AA, C20:4n-6) but no correlation with the percentages of PUFA and the ratio of PUFA/SFA. On the other hand, the TG levels correlated inversely with the percentage of PUFA and the ratios of PUFA/SFA in both countries. When compared to those of Japanese students, low eicosapentaenoic acid (EPA, C20:5n-3) and high AA were found in the Dutch students (p < 0.001, respectively). The total amounts of n-3 PUFA in the Dutch were significandy lower than those in the Japanese (p < 0.001) but no differences among those of n-6 PUFA. The ratios of EPA/AA and n-3/n-6 PUFA of the Dutch students were lower than those of the Japanese students (p < 0.001, respectively). The ratio of EPA/AA showed a positive correlation with EPA but not with AA in both countries. The levels of Toc which will decrease the risk of coronary vascular disease (CVD) were lower in Japan than those in the Dutch in both sexes (p < 0.01, respectively). These results suggest that the low EPA and high AA levels and the low n-3/n-6 PUFA ratio may lead to greater incidence of CVD.

Evaluation of the iron status in Nepalese living in Southern Nepal

Abstract This study examined serum protein and iron status of people aged 10 to 72 years living in the Itahari district (an industrial district, 40 males and 32 females) and in the Chitwan district (an agricultural district, 89 males and 82 females) in the Terai region of southern Nepal. The relationship between the results and food and nutrient intakes was also investigated. The mean values of weight were very low in both groups, which led to a low body mass index, 18–20. The mean values of serum total protein (TP) for the residents in the Chitwan district were higher than those of the Itahari (p

The serum status of tocopherol and retinol and their relation to lipids in persons aged 10–72 in Nepal

Abstract This study examined the serum status of serum α-tocopherol (Toc), retinol (Ret), and lipids (cholesterol and triglycerides) and the correlations among them in sera of persons aged 10–72 (42 males and 38 females) living in southeastern Nepal. Serum levels of Toc, Ret and cholesterol (Chol) were positively related to age (r=0.47, r=0.55, and r=0.39, p

Status of polyunsaturated fatty acids in serum of persons aged 10–72 in Nepal

Abstract The fatty acid composition of serum was measured for persons aged 10–72 (42 males and 38 females) living in southeastern Nepal. The mean amounts of PUFA and n-6 PUFA were significantly higher for males (79.8 and 72.7 mg/100 ml, respectively) than for females (68.9 and 62.3 mg/100 ml, respectively) (p