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Summary
Ceruloplasmin (Cp), the major copper-binding protein in the plasma, is an acute phase protein with ferrioxidase activity. Both its oxidase activity and hepatic mRNA abundance increase during the developmental period. To test the possible role of retinoic acid, a derivative of vitamin A known to participate in cellular differentiation and development, on the developmental regulation of Cp, neonatal rat pups were injected with 2 mg 13-cis-retinoic acid (RA)/g body weight on postnatal day 1. Serum Cp activity and hepatic Cp mRNA were measured over the next 3 weeks in RA-treated and vehicle-treated controls. Serum Cp activity increased 2.5-fold 24 h after RA administration. However, hepatic Cp mRNA abundance was not elevated during this time period, suggesting that the action of RA on Cp activity was the result of post-transcriptional changes.
Keywords
Retinoic acid, Ceruloplasmin, Development, Neonatal
International Journal for Vitamin and Nutrition Research, Band 67, 1997, Heft 3 © Verlag Hans Huber, Bern
Summary
Very few reports are available on the vitamin A status of Indian pregnant women in the rural population. The present study was carried out to assess the vitamin A status and the effect of vitamin A and iron supplementation in pregnancy on serum vitamin A levels in the rural women. It was observed that serum vitamin A levels showed a marginal decrease with advancing gestation. Though satisfactory as per WHO guidelines, supplementation with 60 mg of iron prevented this decrease. A higher dose of iron (120 mg) actually resulted in a similar vitamin A status as seen in vitamin A supplemented women. If this preliminary study can be confirmed it would appear that interactions between vitamin A and iron in pregnancy have a positive effect on the vitamin A nutriture.
Keywords
Vitamin A status, Rural pregnant women, Effect of Iron supplements, 120 mg of Fe and Vitamin A and Status, Vitamin A Deficiency
International Journal for Vitamin and Nutrition Research, Band 67, 1997, Heft 3 © Verlag Hans Huber, Bern
Summary
To investigate the influence of dietary vitamin E (VE) on DNA damage in bone marrow, we fed mice either a low VE diet (-VE), a basal VE diet (+30 mg VE/kg) or a high VE diet (+1000 mg VE/kg) for 50 weeks. DNA damage was evaluated by two cytogenetic methods: micronucleus (MN) assay using peripheral blood, and examination of sister chromatid exchanges (SCE) in bone marrow cells. The MN assay was performed periodically from 6 to 50 weeks, and showed that the incidence of reticulocytes containing MNs did not increase in the low VE diet group, and did not decrease in the high VE diet group. SCE assay done at 50 weeks also showed no difference among the VE diet groups. VE in bone marrow was markedly lower in the low VE diet group and higher in the high VE diet group compared to that in the basal VE diet group at 6 weeks. The VE at 50 weeks was not markedly different from that at 6 weeks. Corresponding to the changes in the VE, lipid peroxide in bone marrow was higher in the low VE diet group, but was not lower in the high VE diet group. Glutathione and vitamin C in the bone marrow, which were about 100p;1000 times higher than that of VE, were not different among the groups.
Keywords
DNA damage, Vitamin E, Lipid peroxide, Vitamin C, Glutathione, Bone marrow, Mice
International Journal for Vitamin and Nutrition Research, Band 67, 1997, Heft 3 © Verlag Hans Huber, Bern
Summary
Male New Zealand White rabbits were made hypercholesterolemic by feeding an atherogenic diet (0.5% cholesterol, 3% peanut oil, and 3% coconut oil) with or without (control) antioxidants for 8 weeks. The antioxidant treatments were intravenous injection of b-carotene (25 mg/kg/BW, twice weekly), dietary supplementation of a-tocopherol (0.5%), and a combination of both. Antioxidant treatments significantly increased plasma and LDL antioxidant levels in the above three groups. Intravenous injection of b-carotene significantly decreased total and LDL cholesterol concentrations, thoracic atherosclerotic lesion area, and intimal thickness, but had no effects on LDL oxidation ex vivo as compared to control. Added dietary a-tocopherol significantly decreased the susceptibility of LDL to oxidation ex vivo, aortic atherosclerotic lesion area and intimal thickness, but had no effects on plasma cholesterol levels as compared to control. Combination of both antioxidants significantly decreased total and LDL cholesterol concentrations, susceptibility of LDL to oxidation ex vivo, as well as atherosclerotic lesion area and intimal thickness at aortic arch and thoracic aorta as compared to control, but not b-carotene or a-tocopherol groups. These data suggest that the antihypercholesterolemic effects of b-carotene and antioxidant effects of a-tocopherol may benefit rabbits fed an atherogenic diet by inhibiting the development of atherosclerotic lesions.
Keywords
b-Carotene, a-Tocopherol, Atherosclerotic lesions, LDL oxidation, Hypercholesterolemic rabbits
International Journal for Vitamin and Nutrition Research, Band 67, 1997, Heft 3 © Verlag Hans Huber, Bern
Summary
Methylcobalamin is one of the coenzymatically active cobalamin derivates and required for the activity of the cytoplasmic enzyme methionine synthetase catalyzing the methylation of homocysteine into methionine. The effect of methylcobalamin on the proliferation of malignant cells has been examined. Methylcobalamin inhibited the proliferation of androgen-sensitive SC-3 cells (a cloned cell line from Shionogi mouse mammary tumor, SC115) in culture at the concentration of 100 - 300 mg/ml. An inhibitory activity of methylcobalamin on the proliferation was also observed in other cell lines (estrogen-sensitive B-1F cells from mouse Leydig cell tumor and MCF-7 cells from human mammary tumor) at the concentration of 500 mg/ml. Moreover, large doses of methylcobalamin injected intraperitoneally (100 mg/kg body weight/day) were non-toxic and suppressed the tumor growth of SC115 and B-1F cells in mice fed a vitamin B12 deficient diet. These results show that methylcobalamin inhibits the proliferation of malignant cells in culture and in vivo and propose the possibility of methylcobalamin as a candidate of potentially useful agents for the treatment for some malignant tumors.
Keywords
Methylcobalamin, Vitamin B12, Androgen-sensitive cell line, Estrogen-sensitive cell line
International Journal for Vitamin and Nutrition Research, Band 67, 1997, Heft 3 © Verlag Hans Huber, Bern
Summary
An adequate intake of folates and vitamin B12 is essential for the
rapid growth rates characteristic of infancy. However, little
information exists on the prevalence of deficiencies of these
nutrients in preschool children. The status of these vitamins was
therefore evaluated in a group of 79 children between 2 and 6 years
of age. A 5 day dietary record (including a Sunday) was kept for all
subjects. All food taken at day care centres was monitored using
"Precise individual weighing" and recorded by trained personnel.
Measurements were made of serum and erythrocyte folate levels,
vitamin B12 levels, number of red blood cells, haemoglobin and
haematocrit levels, and mean corpuscular volume. Though the mean
intake of folic acid surpassed recommended levels for this age group,
31.4% of the subjects showed intakes below those recommended. 7.7% of
the subjects showed serum folate levels between 3 and 6 ng/mL, values
which indicate a moderate deficiency of this vitamin. A correlation
was found between folate intake and serum folate levels r = 0.3654 (P
< 0.01). Vitamin B12 intake was 438% that recommended. Only 2.9%
of the subjects showed vitamin B12 intake below recommended and none
showed serum values below 150 pg/ml, the lower normal limit below
which deficiency is considered to exist.
Conclusion: Amongst preschool children, folate deficiency is probably
much more common than vitamin B12 deficiency. However, its incidence
is low, and much lower than that observed in other age groups.
Keywords
Folates, Vitamin B12, Preschool children, Intake, Serum levels
International Journal for Vitamin and Nutrition Research, Band 67, 1997, Heft 3 © Verlag Hans Huber, Bern
Summary
The aim of this investigation was to analyse the influence of the number of meals per day on a range of cardiovascular risk factors and on the energy and nutrient intakes of a group of elderly people. The participants in this study were 150 elderly people (64 men and 86 women) from Madrid. Food intake was followed over a period of 5 days. "Precise individual weighing" was used to determine the intake of institutionalized subjects (n = 58) whilst "food intake records" were used to register the same for independent subjects (n = 92). The nutrient and energy intake of the studied population was then determined from these data. The number of meals taken was also recorded. Serum cholesterol and triacylglycerol levels were determined using enzymatic methods. In this population, the meal most frequently omitted was breakfast. No subject took only one meal per day, though 7.4% took only two. 56.6% took three meals and 36% took four. No subject took more than four meals per day. As the number of meals taken increased, so too the covering of theoretical energy expenditure, and the intakes of a range of nutrients became closer to those recommended e.g. proteins, fibre, vitamin C, thiamin, riboflavin, calcium, magnesium and iodine. As the number of meals taken per day increased, carbohydrate intake (in g/1000 Kcal and as % of energy) also increased, and approached recommended levels more closely. As observed in other studies, blood cholesterol levels were seen to be negatively correlated with increasing number of meals (r = - 0.2297, p < 0.05). Further, those subjects who distributed their food intake more evenly throughout the day showed lower serum cholesterol (p < 0.05), VLDL-cholesterol (p < 0.05) and triacylglycerol levels (p < 0.05). The results favour the distribution of energy intake over the day as a method of improving nutritional status and as a factor that might improve blood lipid profiles.
Keywords
Number of meals, Nutritional status, Elderly, Cardiovascular risk factors, Energy and nutrient intakes
International Journal for Vitamin and Nutrition Research, Band 67, 1997, Heft 3 © Verlag Hans Huber, Bern
Summary
The purpose of this study was to investigate the association of health and dietary characteristics with the use of vitamin and mineral supplements in community-dwelling, cognitively intact elders aged in their 60s (n = 89), 80s (n = 92), and 100s (n = 76) who resided in Georgia in the southeastern United States. Elders who were physically active (p = 0.008), had stomach problems (p = 0.042), or used arthritis medication (p = 0.015) were more likely to take a nutritional supplement than elders without these characteristics. Physically active elders were more likely to take calcium (p = 0.004), vitamin E (p = 0.022), and vitamin C (p = 0.046) than non-physically active elders. Compared to non-users, supplement users were also more likely to comply with nutritional health seeking behaviors such as avoiding too much salt, fat, cholesterol, sugar, caffeine, and eating enough fiber, vitamins and minerals from food or supplements, and calcium in foods or supplements. The observation that the use of certain vitamin or mineral supplements is associated with dietary fat intakes, dietary protein intakes, and patterns of alcohol, decaffeinated coffee, and tea consumption suggests that supplement use is one of a cluster of health behaviors. Thus, it may be important that future investigations concerning the impact of supplement use on diseases, such as heart diesease or cancer, control for the effects of dietary patterns and physical activity.
Keywords
Elderly Supplements, Health Behaviors, Physical Activity, Dietary Patterns
International Journal for Vitamin and Nutrition Research, Band 67, 1997, Heft 3 © Verlag Hans Huber, Bern
Summary
The effects of three dietary protein treatments were compared on cholesterol content of plasma lipoprotein fractions and oxidative status of liver lipids in adult guinea pigs. All diets were adequate in soluble dietary fiber and well-balanced in fatty acids providing 30% of total energy. After seven weeks dietary treatments, casein compared to soy protein increased cholesterol in a sub-fraction of LDL (low density lipoprotein) with larger molecular weight and in a combination of this sub-fraction of LDL plus VLDL (very low density lipoprotein) taken together. Supplementation of casein diet with glycine, alanine, arginine and cystine tended to decrease cholesterol in the sub-fraction of LDL with larger molecular weight. There was no effect of dietary treatments on thiobarbituric acid reactive substances in lipids extracted from guinea pig liver likely due to the very high vitamin E and C content of the diets. In addition to counteracting the serum cholesterol elevating effects of dietary cholesterol soy protein also appears to attenuate the hypercholesterolemic effects of dietary saturated fatty acids.
Keywords
Casein, Amino acids, Soy protein, Cholesterol, Guinea pigs, Lipoprotein fractions
International Journal for Vitamin and Nutrition Research, Band 67, 1997, Heft 3 © Verlag Hans Huber, Bern
Summary
The aim of this study was to examine the effect of dietary fish
oil on plasma lipoprotein cholesterol levels in rats fed different
carbohydrate sources. Male Wistar rats fed a soy bean oil diet or a
fish oil diet containing 0.5% cholesterol were studied for 7
weeks.
Corn starch or sucrose were used as carbohydrate sources in the
experimental diet. Fish oil supplementation significantly (p <
0.05) decreased plasma VLDL (very low density lipoprotein)
cholesterol in rats fed a diet containing corn starch. However, there
was no significant difference in plasma total cholesterol and LDL
(low density lipoprotein) cholesterol in rats fed a corn starch diet
with fish oil treatment. In the experiment with sucrose,
significantly (p < 0.05) decreased plasma total cholesterol, LDL
cholesterol and VLDL cholesterol were observed in rats fed a fish oil
diet. Although higher plasma total and VLDL cholesterol levels were
found in rats fed the sucrose diet when compared with those fed the
corn starch diet, no significant difference between the corn starch
group and the sucrose group was observed in rats after fish oil
treatment. Results from the present study suggest that the
carbohydrate source might play an important role in the regulation of
plasma lipoprotein metabolism in rats fed fish oil.
Keywords
Fish oil, Cholesterol, Plasma lipoprotein cholesterol
International Journal for Vitamin and Nutrition Research, Band 67, 1997, Heft 3 © Verlag Hans Huber, Bern
Summary
The effects of commercially available calcium supplements (calcium carbonate, calcium gluconate, oyster shell preparation and bovine bone preparation) and gluconic acid on the absorption of calcium and magnesium were evaluated for 30 days in male Wistar rats. There were no differences in the apparent absorption ratio of calcium among rats fed each calcium supplement; however, the rats fed the calcium gluconate diet had a higher apparent absorption ratio of magnesium than the rats fed the other calcium supplements. Dietary gluconic acid also more markedly stimulated magnesium absorption than the calcium carbonate diet, and the bone (femur and tibia) magnesium contents of rats fed the gluconic acid diet were significantly higher than those of the rats fed the calcium carbonate diet. Furthermore, the weight of cecal tissue and the concentrations of acetic acid and butyric acid in cecal digesta of rats fed the calcium gluconate diet or the gluconic acid diet were significantly increased. We speculate that the stimulation of magnesium absorption in rats fed the calcium gluconate diet is a result of the gluconic acid component and the effect of gluconic acid on magnesium absorption probably results from cecal hypertrophy, magnesium solubility in the large intestine and the effects of volatile fatty acids on magnesium absorption.
Keywords
Calcium supplement, Gluconic acid, Magnesium, Absorption, Rat
International Journal for Vitamin and Nutrition Research, Band 67, 1997, Heft 3 &© Verlag Hans Huber, Bern