We have previously shown that non-digestible saccharides (NDS) stimulate intestinal Ca absorption via tight junctions. However, the cellular mechanisms activated by the NDS are not yet known. We investigated the effects of four NDS, difructose anhydride (DFA) III, DFAIV, fructo-oligosaccharides, and maltitol, on intracellular Ca signalling in isolated rat small-intestinal enterocytes. The changes in intracellular Ca2+ concentration were measured before and after the addition of capric acid (7·5 or 15 mmol/l, a positive control), glycerol, or each NDS (1 or 10 mmol/l) to fura-2-loaded enterocytes. Treatment with capric acid or each NDS caused an immediate and dose-dependent rise in intracellular Ca2+ concentration. Mechanical and osmotic stimulation achieved by adding glycerol had no effect on intracellular Ca2+ concentration. The intracellular Ca2+ concentration in enterocytes treated with DFAIII and fructo-oligosaccharides reached a peak level at about 30 s after stimulation, but those treated with DFAIV and maltitol showed further increases after the initial rapid rise. The maximum change in intracellular Ca2+ concentration obtained by the application of maltitol was higher than that of DFAIII at 10 mmol/l. These findings suggest that each of the four NDS directly stimulates rat enterocytes, and increases intracellular Ca2+ concentration. Thus, molecular structure may be more important than the size of the NDS in the induction of Ca signalling in the cells.

The CB1 cannabinoid receptor antagonist, N-piperidino-5-(4-chlorophenyl)-1-(2,4-dichlorophenyl)-4-methylpyrazole-3-carboxamide (rimonabant; SR141716A), and oleoylethanolamide (OEA) are known to reduce food consumption, by, at least partially, a peripheral regulation of feeding. The effects of systemic SR141716A or OEA (5 mg/kg) administrations on food consumption in 24 h food-deprived and fed rats were investigated. In fasted rats, SR141716A and OEA produced an inhibition in food intake measurable the first 20 min following injection. The increase in ghrelin levels observed in the vehicle-injected rats was abolished in animals receiving OEA and significantly reduced with SR141716A. Neither OEA nor SR141716A modified glucagon-like peptide-1 (7–36) amide portal levels 20 min after the administration. In fed rats, plasma ghrelin levels of SR141716A- and OEA-treated rats were 35% lower as compared with those of the vehicle-injected rats. These results show an influence of cannabinoid agents on circulating ghrelin levels and suggest that their short-term action on appetite seems to be in accordance with the control of secretion of gastrointestinal orexigenic peptides, mainly expressed in the upper part of the gastrointestinal tract.

ApoA-IV is a protein constituent of HDL particles; the gene coding for it is a member of the ApoA-I–ApoC-III–ApoA-IV cluster. To investigate the effects of the quantity and the degree of saturation of dietary lipid on the long-term response of this Apo, and on the hypothetical coordinated regulation of the cluster in vivo, pigs were fed isoenergetic, cholesterol-free, low-lipid or lipid-enriched diets (containing either extra olive oil (rich in MUFA) or sunflower oil (rich in n−6 PUFA)) for 42 d. In animals fed on the control diet, ApoA-IV was mainly associated with plasma lipoproteins. An increase in plasma ApoA-IV concentration, mainly in the lipoprotein-free fraction, was induced by the lipid-enriched diets, independent of the degree of saturation of the fatty acids involved. The latter diets also led to increases in hepatic ApoA-I, ApoA-IV and ApoC-III mRNA levels, more so with the sunflower oil-rich diet. The present results show that porcine plasma ApoA-IV levels and their association with lipoproteins are very sensitive to increases in dietary lipids, independent of the degree of fatty acid saturation. Furthermore, hepatic expression of RNA appears to be coordinated along with that of the other members of the gene cluster.

The effects of Lactobacillus gasseri JCM 1131T on isoflavonoid levels within the caecum and plasma were assessed in adult mice. Male 5-week-old mice were fed an AIN 93M diet for 30 d. Two groups of mice were administered either L. gasseri JCM 1131T (the LGI group) or physiological saline solution (the control (CI) group) daily for 5 d before dissection. The plasma daidzein concentration was significantly higher in the LGI group, however, their plasma equol concentration was significantly less than in the CI group. The total amount of equol present as aglycone in the caecum was significantly greater in the CI group, but there was no significant difference in the total daidzein present as caecal aglycone. In an in vitro incubation of daidzin with the faecal flora of mice, the equol concentration was significantly higher in the CI group. The numbers of lactobacilli present were significantly higher in the LGI group. The present data suggest that the administration of L. gasseri is likely to influence the effect of isoflavonoids on the host via changes in the gastrointestinal environment.

The intestinal Na-dependent D-glucose co-transporter (SGLT)-1 in sheep is under dietary regulation by luminal substrates. The aim of the present study was to find out whether the SGLT-1 in the forestomach of sheep is also regulated by sugars. Furthermore, the location of a possible glucosensor (luminal v. intracellular v. basolateral) was to be elucidated. Ruminal epithelia of sheep (Ovis aries, Merino breed) were pre-incubated in Ussing chambers with various substrates on the mucosal (i.e. luminal) or serosal (i.e. blood) side. This pre-incubation period was followed by a second pre-incubation period without the tested substrates (washout period). Thereafter, apical D-glucose uptake by ruminal epithelial cells was determined with 200 μmol D-[14C]glucose/l in the absence or co-presence of the SGLT-1 inhibitor, phlorizin. Pre-incubation with D-glucose on the mucosal side had no significant effect on apical D-glucose uptake (P>0.05). In contrast, pre-incubation with D-glucose, D-mannose, 3-O-methyl-D-glucose or sucrose on the serosal side significantly increased D-glucose uptake compared with mannitol-treated controls (P<0.05). Serosal pre-incubation with cellobiose or D-xylose had no effect. The stimulation of D-glucose uptake by serosal D-glucose pre-incubation was concentration dependent, with maximal stimulation at about 10 mmol/l. We conclude that the ruminal SGLT-1 can be up-regulated in a concentration-dependent manner by blood-borne D-glucose via an extracellular sugar-sensing mechanism.

An inhibitor of α-amylase was isolated and purified from an extract of white kidney beans (Phaseolus vulgaris). The acute oral administration of the inhibitor (50 mg/kg body weight) to adult Wistar rats together with a starch load (2 g/kg body weight suspended in NaCl (9 g/l)) reduced the increase in glycaemia over the basal value (NaCl, 222 (SEM 49); inhibitor, 145 (SEM 16) mmol/l×180 min; P<0.05) without modifying the insulin response. On administering the inhibitor orally (50 mg/kg body weight dissolved in NaCl (9 g/l)) for 21 d to rats fed on a standard diet, a decline was observed in the glycaemia values on day 0 (NaCl, 5.53 (SEM 0.12); inhibitor, 5.25 (SEM 0.16) mmol/l) relative to those obtained on days 10 (NaCl, 5.00 (SEM 0.14); inhibitor, 4.60 (SEM 0.08) mmol/l; P<0.05) and 21 (NaCl, 5.22 (SEM 0.22); inhibitor, 4.50 (SEM 0.12) mmol/l; P<0.01) of treatment, without modifying the plasma concentration of insulin. There was found to be a significant anorexigenic action of the inhibitor; there was reduced food intake (NaCl, 23.07 (SEM 0.31); inhibitor, 19.50 (SEM 0.49) g/d; P<0.01), a reduced weight gain (NaCl, 52 (SEM 3); inhibitor, −1.33 (SEM 8.9) g/21 d; P<0.01), as well as changes in the activity of some intestinal enzymes such as maltase (NaCl, 87 (SEM 7); inhibitor, 127 (SEM 11) U/g proteins; P<0.05). The present study has shown, for the first time, that the prolonged administration of an α-amylase inhibitor reduces blood glucose levels and body-weight gain in Wistar rats.

Milk fat contains considerable amounts of saturated fatty acids, known to increase serum cholesterol. Little is known, however, about the relative effect of different milk products on risk factors for CHD. The aim of the present study was to compare the effects of Jarlsberg cheese (a Norwegian variety of Swiss cheese) with butter on serum lipoproteins, haemostatic variables and homocysteine. A controlled dietary study was performed with twenty-two test individuals (nine men and thirteen women) aged 23–54 years. The subjects consumed three isoenergetic test diets, with equal amounts of fat and protein, and containing either cheese (CH diet), butter+calcium caseinate (BC diet) or butter+egg-white protein (BE diet). The study was a randomised cross-over study and the subjects consumed each diet for 3 weeks, with 1 week when they consumed their habitual diet in between. Fasting blood samples were drawn at baseline and at the end of each period. Serum was analysed for lipids and plasma for haemostatic variables and homocysteine. Total cholesterol was significantly lower after the CH diet than after the BC diet (−0.27 mmol/l; P=0.03), while the difference in LDL-cholesterol was found to be below significance level (−0.22 mmol/l; P=0.06). There were no significant differences in HDL-cholesterol, triacylglycerols, apo A-I, apo B or lipoprotein (a), haemostatic variables and homocysteine between the diets. The results indicate that, at equal fat content, cheese may be less cholesterol increasing than butter.

The ‘malnutrition universal screening tool’ (‘MUST’) for adults has been developed for all health care settings and patient groups, but ease of use and agreement with other published tools when screening to identify malnutrition requires investigation. The present study assessed the agreement and the prevalence of malnutrition risk between ‘MUST’ and a variety of other tools in the same patients and compared the ease of using these tools. Groups of patients were consecutively screened using ‘MUST’ and: (1) MEREC Bulletin (MEREC) and Hickson and Hill (HH) tools (fifty gastroenterology outpatients); (2) nutrition risk score (NRS) and malnutrition screening tool (MST; seventy-five medical inpatients); (3) short-form mini nutritional assessment (MNA-tool; eighty-six elderly and eighty-five surgical inpatients); (4) subjective global assessment (SGA; fifty medical inpatients); (5) Doyle undernutrition risk score (URS; fifty-two surgical inpatients). Using ‘MUST’, the prevalence of malnutrition risk ranged from 19–60% in inpatients and 30% in outpatients. ‘MUST’ had ‘excellent’ agreement (κ 0.775–0.893) with MEREC, NRS and SGA tools, ‘fair–good’ agreement (κ 0.551–0.711) with HH, MST and MNA-tool tools and ‘poor’ agreement with the URS tool (κ 0.255). When categorisation of malnutrition risk differed between tools, it did not do so systematically, except between ‘MUST’ and MNA-tool (P=0.0005) and URS (P=0.039). ‘MUST’ and MST were the easiest, quickest tools to complete (3–5 min). The present investigation suggested a high prevalence of malnutrition in hospital inpatients and outpatients (19–60% with ‘MUST’) and ‘fair–good’ to ‘excellent’ agreement beyond chance between ‘MUST’ and most other tools studied. ‘MUST’ was quick and easy to use in these patient groups.

There are two key methods in which fat intake may be manipulated; the ‘substitution model’ and the ‘reduction model’. However insufficient information is known about the mechanisms of dietary fat reduction in individuals who have successfully reduced their fat intake, to be clear as to which strategy offers the greatest chance of success. Our objective was to ascertain the most effective dietary intervention for improving cardiovascular risk profile. Eighty female volunteers (high fat consumers) were recruited. Each subject was randomly allocated into one of the following groups. Substitution of high-fat foods was made with reduced-fat products, by the reduction of high-fat foods, by a combination of substitution and reduction strategies, or no advice was given. Each intervention lasted 3 months. Anthropometric measures and fasting blood samples were taken at baseline and follow-up. The substitution intervention resulted in weight loss (mean −1.4 (95% CI −2.4, −0.2) kg) and reduced percentage body fat (mean −1.3 (95% CI −2.0, −0.5)%). There was no significant weight change with the other interventions. Fasting triacylglycerols (−0.2 (SEM 0.07) mM; P=0.04), cholesterol and C-reactive protein (CRP) levels (0.8 (SEM 0.2) mg/l; P=0.04) fell with the substitution intervention, but not with the other interventions. Insulin-like growth factor-1 increased with both substitution and reduction (P=0.02). There was no significant change in fasting insulin or glucose with any intervention. The substitution model of dietary intervention is effective even over a relatively short interval of time in reducing fasting total cholesterol, triacylglycerols and CRP. Although the group size for the present study was small and involved females only, it has significant implications for population intervention strategies.

The aim of the present study was to analyse the changes in body composition of stunted children during a follow-up period and to test the hypothesis of a tendency to accumulate body fat as a consequence of undernutrition early in life. We selected fifty boys and girls aged 11 to 15, who were residents of slums in São Paulo, Brazil. Twenty were stunted (S) and thirty had normal stature (NS). The children's nutritional status and body composition were assessed through anthropometry and dual-energy X-ray absorptiometry, at the beginning of the present study and after 3 years, and changes in lean mass (LM and LM%) and fat mass (FM and FM%) were calculated. Stunted boys accumulated more body fat (FM%: S=1·62%, NS=−3·40%; P=0·003) and gained less lean mass (LM%: S=−1·46, NS=3·21%; P=0·004). Stunted girls gained less lean mass (S=7·87 kg, NS=11·96 kg; P=0·032) and had significantly higher values of FM% at follow-up when compared with their baseline values (P=0·008), whereas non-stunted girls had a non-significant difference in FM% over time (P=0·386). These findings are important to understand the factors involved in the increased prevalence of overweight and obesity among poor populations, which appear to be associated with hunger during infancy and/or childhood.

The objective of the present study was to compare different methods for evaluating body fat percentage (BF%) (anthropometric methods and bioelectrical impedance analysis) in university students. Subjects were 653 healthy students whose mean age, body height, body weight and BMI were 21·1 (SD 2·5) years, 166·0 (SD 8·4) cm, 62·8 (SD 11·0) kg and 22·7 (SD 3·1) kg/m2, respectively. Results showed that BMI is a poor predictor of body fatness since the sensitivity was low in comparison with the reference method (Siri equation). The lowest values of BF% were obtained using the reference method (Siri equation) (21·8 (SD 6·8)%). The two methods with the highest agreement were Siri and Lean (mean difference, −0·5), followed by Brozek (mean difference, −1·4) and Deurenberg (mean difference, −1·5). The largest mean difference for BF% was between Siri and impedance (−4·5). Although the methods and/or equations used in the present study have been commonly utilised to estimate BF% in young adults, the results must be interpreted with caution in the diagnosis and monitoring of overweight and obesity.

The role of maternal infections, nutritional status and obstetric history in low birth weight is not clear. Thus, the objective of the present study was to assess the effects of maternal HIV infection, nutritional status and obstetric history, and season of birth on gestation length and birth size. The study population was 1669 antenatal care attendees in Harare, Zimbabwe. A prospective cohort study was conducted as part of a randomised, controlled trial. Maternal anthropometry, age, gravidity, and HIV status and load were assessed in 22nd–35th weeks gestation. Outcomes were gestation length and birth size. Birth data were available from 1106 (66·3%) women, of which 360 (32·5%) had HIV infection. Mean gestation length was 39·1 weeks with 16·6% <37 weeks, mean birth weight was 3030 g with 10·5% <2500 g. Gestation length increased with age in primigravidae, but not multigravidae (interaction, P=0·005), and birth in the early dry season, low arm fat area, multiple pregnancies and maternal HIV load were negative predictors. Birth weight increased with maternal height, and birth in the late rainy and early dry season; primi-secundigravidity, low arm fat area, HIV load, multiple pregnancies and female sex were negative predictors. In conclusion, gestation length and birth weight decline with increasing maternal HIV load. In addition, season of birth, gravidity, maternal height and body fat mass, and infant sex are predictors of birth weight.

With relatively high fertility and short lifespan, marmoset monkeys (Callithrix jacchus) may become useful primate models of prenatal nutritional effects on birth condition and adult disease risk. The present study determined the effects of energy restriction to 75% of expected ad libitum consumption during mid- (day 66) or late (day 99) gestation on maternal weight, fetal growth and pregnancy outcomes in this species. Mid-restriction reliably induced the loss of pregnancy before term, at 92 d, on average. Of the late-restricted pregnancies, four of seven were normal term length while three were preterm deliveries, at 101, 117 and 132 d. Control females had a mean mid-pregnancy weight gain of 0·67 g/d while mid-restricted females lost −0·65 g/d, on average. Control pregnancies averaged a 1·06 g/d gain during late pregnancy, while energy-restricted females lost −0·67 g/d, on average. Restriction-related weight change was highly variable, ranging from +0·55 to −2·56 g/d for mid-restriction pregnancies and from +0·79 to −3·91 g/d for late-restriction pregnancies. For mid-restriction pregnancies, the number of restriction days was best explained by linear weight change and total weight loss while the number of restriction days in late pregnancy was best explained by linear weight change alone. In late-restriction pregnancies, smaller females had higher daily weight losses. Restrictions did not induce litter-size reduction or growth restriction in those infants that were delivered at term but the size of aborted fetuses suggested that at least some pregnancies lost preterm may have involved impaired intra-uterine growth.

We have developed a thirty-nine-item semi-quantitative food-frequency questionnaire (FFQ) to assess the dietary consumption of 11 746 men and women in a prospective cohort study that evaluates the health effects of As from drinking water in Bangladesh. In order to validate the FFQ, two 7 d food diaries (FD) were completed for 189 randomly selected cohort participants in two different seasons of the year. Nutrient values were converted based on both the United States Department of Agriculture's National Nutrient Database and a food composition table for the Indian subcontinent. Pearson product-moment and Spearman non-parametric rank correlation coefficients comparing food and nutrient consumptions estimated from FFQ and 7 d FD were calculated based on log-transformed consumption values with or without adjustment for total energy and correction for within-individual variation. Correlations of macronutrients and common micronutrients including total fat, monounsaturated fat, polyunsaturated fat, saturated fat, protein, carbohydrate, dietary fibre, Na, K, vitamin B6, vitamin B12, riboflavin, Mn, thiamin and Fe were moderately good, ranging from 0·30 to 0·76. However, correlations of other micronutrients were weak (<0·30). Large seasonal variations in intakes of retinol equivalents and vitamin C were observed. This analysis documents the degree of validity of the FFQ in measuring specific nutrient intakes in the study population. To our knowledge, the present study is the first to document the validity of a FFQ with the use of 7 d FD in a Bangladeshi population.

The prevalence of oral candidiasis and its association with malnutrition in terms of protein–energy malnutrition and mineral and vitamin depletion were evaluated in ninety-seven hospitalised older adults aged 82·1 (SD 8·6) years. Patients underwent a complete oral examination with microbiological investigation on admission to our geriatric rehabilitation unit. Patients were assessed nutritionally by evaluation of dietary intake and measurement of anthropometric variables, serum nutritional proteins, ferritin, Zn, folate, vitamins B12 and C. The prevalence of oral candidiasis was 37% (n 36); the proportion of patients with BMI <20 kg/m2 was 32% (n 31). The nutritional status of the population was studied by comparing two groups defined according to the absence (group I; n 61) or presence (group II; n 36) of oral candidiasis. The two groups did not differ on the basis of BMI and mid-arm circumference. However, group II had a smaller leg circumference, lower daily energy and protein intakes, lower albumin and transthyretin levels. Patients successfully treated with fluconazole increased their intake on day 30. The proportion of patients with hypozincaemia (<12·5 μmol/l) and vitamin C deficiency (<0·7 mg/l) was higher in group II. Treatment with antibiotics, poor oral hygiene, denture wearing, and vitamin C deficiency appeared as the most significant independent risk factors associated with oral candidiasis. The present findings show that oral candidiasis appears to be related to malnutrition and results in mucosal lesions that have a negative impact on energy intake, which may subsequently worsen nutritional status.