Development of a Nutrient Profiling Model for Processed Foods in Japan.

Numerous nutrient profiling models (NPMs) exist worldwide, but Japan lacks an official NPM. Using the Australian and New Zealand Health Star Rating (HSR) as a reference, "Processed Foods in Japan version 1.0" (NPM-PFJ (1.

[A Study on the Scientific Reliability of Notification Data in the Foods with Function Claims].

We conducted a comprehensive survey of Foods with Function Claims (FFC) submitted from April to August 2022 to examine the scientific reliability of the systematic review (SR), which is the basis for functional claims. The results of the review of 611 functional claims for 398 products showed that there were 121 functionally active substances and 87 health claims (Hc) that were labeled, with some functionally active substances having multiple functions. SRs, meta-analyses, and clinical studies were submitted as the basis of functionality for 87%, 10%, and 3% of the reports, respectively.

Association between an Antioxidant-Rich Japanese Diet and Chronic Kidney Disease: The Ohasama Study.

Aims: Although physiological effects of hydrophilic- (H-) and lipophilic- (L-) antioxidant capacities (AOCs) are suggested to differ, the association of an antioxidant-rich diet and chronic kidney disease (CKD) incidence has not been examined. We therefore explored the association between the H- or L-AOC of a whole Japanese diet and CKD risk in a general population.

Methods: A total of 922 individuals without CKD (69.

Reliability in viscosity measurement of thickening agents for dysphagia management: Are results obtained by cone-and-plate rheometers reproducible between laboratories?

Viscosity measurement using a cone-and-plate rheometer is considered to provide an objective and reliable evaluation of thickening agents for dysphagia management. Here, we showed its measurement uncertainty in the context of an inter-laboratory study. Eight test samples (i.

Nutrient Profiles of Dishes Consumed by the Adequate and High-Salt Groups in the 2014-2018 National Health and Nutrition Survey, Japan.

Dish-based nutrient profile analyses are essential for setting goals to achieve a balanced diet. In 2014, the Japanese government proposed the "Healthy Meal" criteria, which requires a salt content of 3 g/650 kcal per meal. To examine the current intake status of a nationally representative sample, we conducted a series of secondary analyses of the 2014-2018 National Health and Nutrition Survey data.

Assessment of safety and efficacy of pine bark extract in normal and ovariectomized mice.

We evaluated the influence of pine bark extract (PBE) on organs, the cytochrome-P450 (CYP) activities in liver and estrogenic effects in normal and ovariectomized (OVX) female mice. The PBE did not affect organ weights and liver-function indexes (activities of alkaline phosphatase, aspartate amino transferase, and alanine amino transferase) at doses; 0.04%, 0.

[Proficiency Testing Schemes for Food Nutrition Analysis in Japan (2017-2018)].

This paper deals with proficiency testing schemes for food nutrition analysis in Japan. In schemes in 2017 and 2018, 65 and 73 organizations participated, respectively, and more than 70% of the participants were public organizations responsible for a nutrition-labeling compliance test. The food matrices were pork and chicken sausages, and analytes were protein, fat, ash, moisture, carbohydrate, energy, sodium, salt equivalent, calcium (2018 only), and iron (2018 only).

[Method Verification for Vitamin D Analysis in Processed Foods Based on the Analytical Manual for the Standard Tables of Food Composition in Japan 2015 (Seventh Revised Edition)].

Considerable amounts of processed foods contain vitamin D (ergocalciferol (D) and cholecalciferol (D)) as food additives. For field surveys on food additives, the analytical method for vitamin D should be well-validated. However, the current official method in Japan cannot separately determine the concentrations of D and D, whereas the method for the Standard Tables of Food Composition in Japan 2015 (STFC method) can.

Antioxidant Capacities of Plant-Derived Foods Commonly Consumed in Japan.

To provide reliable data for high quality epidemiological studies examining the relationship between health and antioxidant intake from daily foods, 107 plant-derived food items (12 rice, bread and noodles, 5 potatoes and starches, 9 pulses, 6 nuts/seeds, 29 vegetables, 22 fruits, 5 mushrooms, 7 algae, and 12 beverages) were selected as commonly consumed foods in Japan based on dietary records, and their antioxidant capacities were evaluated by validated hydrophilic- and lipophilic-oxygen radical absorbance capacity (H-ORAC and L-ORAC) methods. The food items covered more than 60% of total food intake for each category on a weight basis. The H-ORAC and L-ORAC values were widely distributed at 0-210 and 0-30 μmol-Trolox equivalent/g, respectively.

The Major Source of Antioxidants Intake From Typical Diet Among Rural Farmers in North-eastern Japan in the 1990s.

Background: Previous Japanese studies have led to the erroneous conclusion of antioxidant capacity (AOC) intakes of the overall Japanese diet due to limitations in the number and types of food measured, especially in rice and seafood intake. The aims of the study were to construct an AOC database of foods representative of the typical Japanese diet and to clarify the high contributors to AOC intake from the overall diet of the Japanese population.

Methods: Commonly consumed foods were estimated using 3-day dietary records (DRs) over the four seasons among 55 men and 58 women in Japan.

Tandem Cation/Anion Exchange SPE Cartridge Method for Sample Desalting for HPLC Analysis of Soluble Dietary Fiber: Development and Inter-laboratory Validation.

In HPLC analyses of soluble dietary fiber, desalting processes using open, mixed-bed ion-exchange columns are time-consuming and labor-intensive. We developed and validated a simple desalting method using tandem cation/anion exchange SPE cartridges. We found that combining Bond Elut Jr SCX (upstream) and Bond Elut PSA (downstream) cartridges provided adequate desalting of test solutions.

Safety and Efficacy Assessment of Isoflavones from (Kudzu) Flower Extract in Ovariectomised Mice: A Comparison with Soy Isoflavones.

Numerous Foods with Function Claims that contain the extract of flower (kudzu) isoflavones (PFI) are available in the Japanese market. These are labelled with function claims of reducing visceral fat. However, these foods have not undergone proper safety assessment such as the evaluation of their oestrogenic activity and effects on drug-metabolising enzymes (cytochrome P-450: CYP) in the liver.

[Improved Reliability of Vitamin Analysis in Foodstuffs Using a Microbiological Assay Method: Construction of Calibration Curves Using Logistic Modeling].

Vitamins are essential nutrients for human beings. Therefore, accurate determination of vitamin levels in foodstuffs is vital to confirm the proper intake of vitamins. The microbiological assay (MBA), which is used worldwide for the determination of several vitamins in foodstuffs, is very sensitive and can determine ng/mL levels of vitamins.

Improvement and Interlaboratory Validation of the Lipophilic Oxygen Radical Absorbance Capacity: Determination of Antioxidant Capacities of Lipophilic Antioxidant Solutions and Food Extracts.

A lipophilic oxygen radical absorbance capacity (L-ORAC) assay is an evaluation of the antioxidant capacity of solutions of lipophilic compounds. The concentrations of fluorescein, radical generator, and Trolox standard solutions were optimized to improve the precision of the assay. An interlaboratory study using two antioxidant solutions and three food extracts as test samples conducted in accordance with harmonized protocol demonstrated satisfactory L-ORAC measurements; the intermediate precision relative standard deviations (RSD(int)) ranged from 7.

Extraction efficiency of hydrophilic and lipophilic antioxidants from lyophilized foods using pressurized liquid extraction and manual extraction.

The efficient extraction of antioxidants from food samples is necessary in order to accurately measure their antioxidant capacities. α-Tocopherol and gallic acid were spiked into samples of 5 lyophilized and pulverized vegetables and fruits (onion, cabbage, Satsuma mandarin orange, pumpkin, and spinach). The lipophilic and hydrophilic antioxidants in the samples were sequentially extracted with a mixed solvent of n-hexane and dichloromethane, and then with acetic acid-acidified aqueous methanol.

Improvement of the lipophilic-oxygen radical absorbance capacity (L-ORAC) method and single-laboratory validation.

We improved the procedure for lipophilic-oxygen radical absorbance capacity (L-ORAC) measurement for better repeatability and intermediate precision. A sealing film was placed on the assay plate, and glass vials and microdispensers equipped with glass capillaries were used. The antioxidant capacities of food extracts can be evaluated by this method with nearly the same precision as antioxidant solutions.

Evaluation of cyanocobalamin in multivitamin tablets and their Standard Reference Material 3280 by HPLC with visible detection.

As a part of the development of an alternative to microbiological assay for vitamin B12, we performed a quantitative analysis of cyanocobalamin (CN-cbl) in a National Institute of Standards and Technology Standard Reference Material (SRM 3280) by HPLC. Using this method, the observed value (4.64 microg/g) of CN-cbl in SRM 3280 was found to be in good agreement with the certified value (4.

Evaluation of a method to quantify quercetin aglycone in onion (Allium cepa) by single- and multi-laboratory validation studies.

Official Methods of Analysis of AOAC International (OMA) 2006.07 was originally designed for quantifying flavonol aglycones in ginkgo dietary supplements. To determine whether the method is applicable to the quantification of flavonol aglycones in lyophilized onion samples, single- and multi-laboratory validation studies were performed.

Determination of 15 isoflavone isomers in soy foods and supplements by high-performance liquid chromatography.

Soy isoflavone is the generic name for the isoflavones found in soy. We determined the concentrations of 15 soy isoflavone species, including 3 succinyl glucosides, in 22 soy foods and isoflavone supplements by high-performance liquid chromatography (HPLC). The total isoflavone contents in 14 soy foods and 8 supplements ranged from 45 to 735 μg/g and from 1,304 to 90,224 μg/g, respectively.

Method validation by interlaboratory studies of improved hydrophilic oxygen radical absorbance capacity methods for the determination of antioxidant capacities of antioxidant solutions and food extracts.

Hydrophilic oxygen radical absorbance capacity (H-ORAC) is a method for evaluating antioxidant capacities of solutions of hydrophilic compounds. In this study, we improved the original method for H-ORAC determination, and evaluated the precision of the two improved methods (methods A and B) by interlaboratory studies using 5 antioxidant solutions and 5 food extracts as test samples. An interlaboratory study of method A, in accordance with the harmonized protocol, demonstrated satisfactory performance (intermediate precision relative standard deviations (RSD(int)) ranging from 4.

Estimated average daily intake of antioxidants from typical vegetables consumed in Japan: a preliminary study.

The hydrophilic antioxidant content of 23 vegetables commonly consumed in Japan was assessed by the hydrophilic oxygen radical absorbance capacity (H-ORAC) method to estimate the dietary intake of total antioxidants in Japan. The estimated average H-ORAC value for "typical vegetables" consumed in Japan was 594.3 µmol Trolox equivalent (TE)/100 g.

Effect of soy isoflavone extract supplements on bone mineral density in menopausal women: meta-analysis of randomized controlled trials.

This study was conducted to clarify the effect of ingesting soy isoflavone extracts (not soy protein or foods containing isoflavones) on bone mineral density (BMD) in menopausal women. PubMed, CENTRAL, ICHUSHI, CNKI, Wanfang Data, CQVIP, and NSTL were searched for randomized controlled trials published in English, Japanese, or Chinese reporting the effects of soy isoflavone extracts on lumbar spine or hip BMD in menopausal women. Trials were identified and reviewed for inclusion and exclusion eligibility.

Reassessment of antioxidant activity of arbutin: multifaceted evaluation using five antioxidant assay systems.

Arbutin, a practically used skin-lightening agent, has been reported to possess a weak antioxidant activity compared to that of its precursor, hydroquinone. However, its antioxidant activity has not been systematically evaluated. Hence, this study reassessed its activity using five assay systems.

A method for evaluation of antioxidant activity based on inhibition of free radical-induced erythrocyte hemolysis.

There are many in vitro methods for evaluating antioxidant activity. In this chapter, we describe an operationally simple cell-based assay, oxidative hemolysis inhibition assay (OxHLIA). OxHLIA is based on inhibition of free radical-induced membrane damage in erythrocytes by antioxidants.