Lowering effect of combined sweet potato and onion intake on plasma quercetin concentration and underlying mechanism involving intestinal β-glucosidase activity.

A combined intake of cooked sweet potato and fried onion in humans was found to suppress the increase of plasma quercetin metabolite concentration. Experiments using rat β-glucosidase indicated that excess carbohydrate digestion products, especially glucose-containing saccharides, interfere with the deglycosylation of quercetin glucosides during intestinal epithelial uptake. Combined meals of sweet potato and onion may lower the bioavailability of onion quercetin glucosides.

Body fat mass is correlated with serum transthyretin levels in maintenance hemodialysis patients.

Serum transthyretin (TTR), also known as prealbumin, is a reliable nutritional indicator and an independent prognostic factor for maintenance hemodialysis patients. However, we recently reported that serum TTR levels did not affect protein-energy wasting (PEW). In this study, we investigated factors affecting serum TTR levels in 60 maintenance hemodialysis patients.