1. Seventy-six students and staff at Robert Gordon's Institute of Technology weighed all items of food consumed for 1 week.

2. Mean phytate-phosphorus intakes ranged from 141 mg for female students to 237 mg for male students. Breakfast was proportionally a more important contributor to daily phytdte intakes than to calcium, zinc, and energy intakes. Cereals were the most important contributors to the phytate at breakfast, whilst wholemeal and brown bread were more important at lunch and the evening meal.

3. The phytate: Zn molar ratio was distributed amongst meals similarly to the more complex ratio, (Ca x phytate):(Zn x energy) (CP:ZE); both ratios have been suggested as useful predictors of Zn availability. CP: ZE ranged more widely when calculated for meals than for days, and therefore some meals could be associated with poor Zn availability whilst others could compensate with higher availability. Subjects with the highest values for CP:ZE were mostly amongst the group of nutrition students.

1. Four men were each studied continuously over 12 d in a whole-body calorimeter. Dietary intake and daily activities were kept constant throughout the study.

2. Day-to-day coefficients of variation in energy expenditure within subjects were found to be 1.97% over 24 h, 5.93% during basal metabolic rate measurement, 2.40% overnight and 3.22% in exercise.

3. The contribution of measurement system noise to the observed variability was analysed and shown to be generally small. The source of this noise was considered.

4. The results reinforce and extend other comparable reports and show that within-subject variability forms a small part of reported observations of between-subject variability.

1. The aim of the present study was to determine whether oral ingestion of raw soya-bean flour, which contains trypsin inhibitors, alters the release of cholecystokinin (CCK) in man.

2. Eleven healthy volunteers ate two mixed meals: one with raw soya-bean flour and the other with soya-bean flour that had been heat-treated. The two flours inhibited 34 and 3 mg trypsin/g flour respectively.

3. CCK was measured in plasma using a bioassay based on the release of amylase (EC 3.2.1.1) from dispersed rat pancreatic acini.

4. The peak CCK response was 168 (SE 8.1) pmol/l with raw soya-bean flour but 4.9 (SE 2.8) pmol/l with heat-treated flour (P < 0.05).

5. We conclude that ingestion of raw soya-bean flour increases CCK release in man and that heat treatment which reduces the trypsin inhibitor content of the flour also diminishes its CCK-releasing effect.

1. Twenty apparently healthy and normal Nigerian male students, resident at the University of Ibadan campus, were studied for seven consecutive days to assess their food energy intake and expenditure and pattern of their daily activities.

2. The mean age (years) of the group was 24.0 (SD 3.23, range 20–30), mean height (m) 1.71 (SD 0.06, range 1.61–1.84) and body-weight (kg) was 61.1 (SD 5.01, range 51.0–69.5).

3. The food intake of each subject was obtained by direct weighing and its energy value determined using a ballistic bomb calorimeter. Patterns of daily activities were recorded and the energy costs of representative activities were determined by indirect calorimetry.

4. Activities mainly involved sitting, mean 580 (SD 167, range 394–732) min/d. Sleeping and standing activities took a mean of 445 (SD 112) and 115 (SD 75) min/d respectively. Personal domestic activities took a mean of 94 (SD 40) min/d.

5. The mean energy intake of the group was 11 182 (SD 1970) kJ/d or 183 (SD 32) kJ/kg body-weight per d. This value is lower than the 12.5 MJ/d recommended by the Food and Agriculture Organization (FAO)/World Health Organization (WHO) (1973) as the energy requirement for an adult man engaged in moderate activities, but it is higher than the FAO/WHO/United Nations University (UNU) (1985) recommended value of 10.8 MJ/d for a male office clerk (light activity). It is also lower than the recommended energy requirement of 11.6 MJ/d for a subsistence farmer (moderately active work) (FAO/WHO/UNU, 1985).

6. The mean energy expenditure of the male subjects was 9876 (SD 1064, range 7159–12259) kJ/d and was lower than mean intake.

7. The energy intake and expenditure values indicated that the groups participating in the present study were not physically very active. It is an indication that the Nigerian male students expended less but probably consumed more energy than required. It is suggested for health reasons and for mental fitness that the Nigerian male students might undertake more physical exercise.

1. Eleven normal-weight male subjects (weight/height2 (W/H2) 19.0-225) from a good socio-economic background and on ad lib. food intake, and eight undernourished male labourers (W/H2 16.4–18.6) on low energy intakes, were studied.

2. Comparison of cardiovascular responses to increasing single doses of the β-agonist, isoproterenol, showed a significantly greater positive chronotropic dose response in the undernourished subjects.

3. Cardiovascular responses to head-up tilt were similar in both the normal-weight and undernourished subjects.

4. Undernourished individuals may show an increase in β-adrenoceptor sensitivity which may be akin to a denervation type of supersensitivity as a result of a nutrition-related reduction in sympathetic activity.

1. Studies were made on liver stores of retinol in aborted human fetuses and stillborn babies in relation to gestational age, fetal size and maternal retinol status. The mothers belonged to low-and high-income groups (LIG and HIG respectively) in urban Baroda.

2. Fetal weights were less than those reported by Widdowson (1968) for similar gestational ages and the deficits were greater in LIG.

3. The combined mean values (μg/l) for maternal serum retinol for all gestational ages were 193 for LIG and 261 for HIG. They were found to decline in late pregnancy in the former but not significantly in the latter.

4. Fetal liver retinol concentrations were much lower than those reported for healthy Thai subjects by Montreewasuwat & Olson (1979) in early pregnancy but showed complete ‘catch up’ in late pregnancy for HIG and to a considerable extent for LIG.

5. Significant correlations were found between maternal serum retinol, fetal liver retinol and fetal growth.

6. These findings stress the importance of adequate vitamin A supplies during pregnancy to prevent vitamin A deficiency and intra-uterine growth retardation in the newborn.

1. Adipose tissue lipoprotein lipase (EC 3.1.1.34; AT-LPL), a rate-limiting enzyme in triglyceride storage in adipose tissue, is hormonally regulated and may be important in the maintenance of obesity.

2. In twelve obese women, AT-LPL activity was measured before weight loss, during weight loss and after 1 and 2 weeks of weight maintenance on either a high-carbohydrate or a high-protein diet.

3. When related to tissue weight, AT-LPL activity during the 2 weeks of weight maintenance was higher than the initial AT-LPL activity; there was no difference when activity was expressed per cell.

4. Changes in AT-LPL activity were not affected by diet composition. AT-LPL activity correlated with insulin levels and a change in the insulin sensitivity of AT-LPL was observed after weight loss.

1. Studies were made on the vitamin E status of the newborn as judged by cord serum vitamin E and erythrocyte haemolysis in vitro in relation to gestational age, birth weight and maternal vitamin E status in subjects belonging to low (LIG)- and high (HIG)-income groups in urban Baroda.

2. In the case of full-term infants, the mean values for maternal serum vitamin E (mg/l) for LIG (n 73) and HIG (n 43) were 9.9 (SE 0.4) and 11.6 (SE 0.5). The corresponding values for cord serum vitamin E were 3.6 (SE 0.2) and 4.6 (SE 0.2) mg/l.

3. Serum vitamin E levels (mg/l) were lower in premature infants (2.3 (SE 0.2); n 20) and low-birth-weight full- term infants (2.9 (SE 0.2); n 25) than in full-term normal infants (4.2 (SE 0.1); n 91). This was associated with differences in maternal serum vitamin E levels (7.4 (SE 05), 8.2 (SE 0.5) and 11.1 (SE 0.3) respectively). The differences were more marked for LIG.

4. A negative correlation was found between serum vitamin E and erythrocyte haemolysis in vitro in the case of maternal blood but not in cord blood.

5. These results suggest that maternal vitamin E deficiency is one of the features associated with prematurity and intra-uterine growth retardation.

1. Dietary records were obtained twice in pregnancy and once post-partum from 265 women from all social classes in London and Edinburgh.

2. The London women always had higher mean energy, protein, fat and fibre intakes. Significant between-region differences emerged.

3. Some between-social classes differences occurred, but were not consistently significant.

4. All mean energy and fibre intakes were lower, and protein and fat intakes were higher, than current recommendations.

5. Of lactating women 15% claimed to be dieting.

6. The percentage dietary energy derived from fat varied from 36 (in a dieting group) to 42.

1. The hydrolysis of sugar alcohols of the disaccharide type such as lactitol, maltitol and Palatinit® (the latter an equimolar mixture of 6-O-α-D-glucopyranoside-D-mannitol and 6-O-α-D-glucopyranoside-D-sorbitol) by homogenates of human intestinal biopsies were compared with corresponding natural disaccharides such as lactose, maltose and isomaltose. Seven of the human biopsies were normal with regard to their disaccharidase activities, while twelve biopsies showed decreased levels of disaccharidase activities.

2. All biopsies, normal as well as abnormal, showed essentially the same capacity to hydrolyse the sugar alcohols. Activities towards lactitol (0.34 IE/g protein (where IE = μmol disaccharide hydrolysed/min at 37°)) and Palatinit (2.50 IE/g protein) were only 1.3% of those towards lactose and isomaltose. The activity towards maltitol was much higher (19.1 IE/g protein), approximately 10% of that towards maltose and about as high as the activity towards trehalose. This finding indicates that despite the fact that lactitol and Palatinit were poor substrates, significant amounts of ingested maltitol might be digested and utilized by man.

3. Glucose release was reduced by approximately 25% when maltitol or Palatinit were present at concentrations equal to those of maltose. Palatinit decreased the hydrolysis of sucrose by 12%. Lactitol had no inhibitory effect on the hydrolysis of disaccharides.

1. Serum 25-hydroxyvitamin D (25-OHD), calcium and alkaline phosphatase (EC 3.1.3.1) levels and vitamin D intakes (from 3 d weighed dietary records) were determined in a cohort of fifty-nine male East Indian Punjabi immigrants (37.7 (SD 10.5) years) and fifty-four females (33.3 (SD 7.4) years).

2. Females had somewhat lower mean serum 25-OHD levels (12.3 (SD 5.0) v. 14.2 (SD 5.1) ng/ml, P < 0.05) and serum Ca levels (88 (SD 8) v. 91 (SD 6) mg/l) than males (P < 0.05) whereas serum alkaline phosphatase values (males 167 (SD 63), females 169 (SD 43) IU/l) and dietary vitamin D intakes (males 3.5 (SD 1.8), females 3.3 (SD 2.0) μg/d) were similar.

3. 22% Of the females and 12% of the males had serum 25-OHD levels below 9.0 ng/ml but none had serum 25-OHD levels within the range associated with clinically overt disease.

4. In the males, serum 25-OHD levels were negatively correlated with dietary fibre intakes (g/d; r–0.29; P < 0.05).

5. Multiple-regression analysis indicated that log serum 25-OHD levels were not related to dietary vitamin D intakes. Instead they were associated with sex and dietary fibre intakes (g/MJ) (F 3.71; P = 0.03). These two variables explained 8% of the variance.

1. The major purpose of the present study was to determine whether the addition of wheat bran to endosperm crisp bread in a composite diet given to rats for 6 weeks causes an increase in the accumulation of cadmium in the rats due to the Cd content in the bran, or whether binding factors in the bran, such as dietary fibre and phytic acid, reduce or prevent the accumulation of this Cd. A second purpose was to determine whether the accumulation of Cd can be estimated by measuring the absorption of 199Cd given in a single meal of the diet.

2. Three groups of eight rats were fed on one of three diets. Half of each diet consisted of a basal mixture of starch, protein, oil, minerals and vitamins. The remainder consisted of crisp breads based on refined wheat flour (endosperm group), wheat flour + bran in equal amounts (bran group) and wheat flour + Cd to give a Cd content similar to that of the bran group (endosperm + Cd group). After 41 d on the diets, the rats were deprived of food but not water for 12 h and then given a 5 g test meal of their respective diets with 109Cd added. After 3 h the remaining 109Cd-labelled diets were replaced with the unlabelled diets for 3 h before the rats were killed.

3. The total Cd contents in the wall of the proximal small intestine, including mucus, and in the liver and kidneys were highest in the endosperm + Cd group and lowest in the endosperm group. The amounts of Cd in the intestinal wall, including mucus, and in the liver and kidneys which derived from the test meal (calculated from 109Cd accumulation) were significantly higher in the endosperm + Cd group than in either of the other two groups. The concentration of Cd in the organs of the bran group which derived from the test meal was not significantly greater than that in the endosperm group.

4. The individual variation in Cd content in the liver and kidneys make it very difficult to demonstrate differences in Cd accumulation from the relatively low, naturally occurring Cd concentrations in the diets. Differences in the absorption of 109Cd from test meals indicate that very little of the Cd in bran is available for absorption.

1. The antigenicity of four soya-bean-based infant formulas (Prosobee powder, Prosobee liquid concentrate (Mead Johnson, Uxbridge, Middx), Wysoy (Wyeth, Maidenhead, Berks) and Formula S (Cow and Gate, Trowbridge, Wilts)) was measured by enzyme-linked immunosorbent assays (ELISAs) specific for glycinin and β-conglycinin. Results were compared with in vivo assessments of antigenicity using guinea-pigs, rabbits and calves.

2. The levels of antigenic glycinin and β-conglycinin in Wysoy and Formula S were below the limits of detection of the ELISA. Both these proteins were detected in Prosobee powder and Prosobee liquid concentrate with the highest levels, especially for glycinin, being present in Prosobee powder.

3. Wysoy was sufficiently antigenic to evoke a soya-bean-specific serum antibody response in rabbits injected with this formula emulsified in complete Freunds adjuvant. A significantly greater response was obtained when rabbits were similarly injected with Prosobee powder.

4. The formulas varied in their ability to sensitize guinea-pigs for both anaphylaxis and antibody production when given orally, although the differences were not statistically significant. Prosobee powder appeared to be the most antigenic and Formula S the least, with Prosobee liquid concentrate and Wysoy being intermediate.

5. Similar variations in antigenicity were observed when Prosobee powder, Wysoy and Formula S were fed to soya-bean-sensitive calves. These formulas were all capable of provoking intestinal disturbances (seen as increased ileal flow-rate, decreased small intestinal transit time and decreased nitrogen absorption) but the most severe reactions were seen when Prosobee powder was fed and the least with Formula S.

6. Thus the four soya-bean-based infant formulas showed considerable differences in antigenicity. In vivo studies using guinea-pigs, rabbits and calves were in good agreement and broadly correlated with the immunochemical assessment of antigenicity. However, the in vitro and in vivo results did not correspond exactly and levels of glycinin and β-conglycinin below the limit of detection by ELISA could evoke an immune response in the different animal species. We believe that these variations in antigenicity of different commercial products prepared from isolated soya-bean protein may be important when interpreting the results from studies of the development of allergy in infants given soya-bean-based formulas.

1. The evidence is accumulating to suggest that glycine, the simplest amino acid, is conditionally essential in man. Benzoic acid, by conjugation with glycine to form hippuric acid, is known to deplete the free glycine pool of the body. Glycine is one substrate for the enzyme glutathione synthase (EC 6.3.2.3) and in the inborn error of metabolism in which glutathione synthase function is defective, increased quantities of 5-oxoproline are excreted in the urine.

2. An oral dose of 4–10 g sodium benzoate was given to six normal adults to deplete the metabolic pool of glycine, and the urinary excretion of 5-oxoproline was followed for 6 h. In five of the six, a significant increase in the urinary 5-oxoproline was seen within 3 h.

3. These-findings show that 5-oxoprolinuria can result from limited glycine availability, and may provide a useful test for assessing glycine sufficiency in a range of physiological and pathological states.