Summary This study was conducted to examine the characteristics and use of dietary supplements by preschool children in Japan. A survey was conducted among 2,125 parents of preschool children to discover the status of dietary supplement use and their attitudes towards supplement use by their children. Logistic regression models were used to determine which characteristics predict supplement use in this population. For detailed characterization, child supplement users were also categorized as either the users of vitamins and minerals only or the users of other supplement components. For parents of non-user children, the parent's knowledge and attitudes toward supplements for children were investigated. Fifteen percent of children had used dietary supplements. Two parent-related factors were especially important, the frequency with which they referred to nutritional labels and their own supplement use, which had a significant encouraging effect on their children's supplement use. The parents of child supplement users showed limited awareness of the government system concerning diet and food, placed safety over efficacy, selected products with natural ingredients, and did not seek consultations with professionals. These parents, especially those who were aware of the specially designed supplements for children, exhibited positive responses to supplement use by their children. It is likely that parents' knowledge and attitudes toward dietary supplements and nutrition have a striking effect on their children's use of supplements. Unfortunately, their knowledge at present was less than satisfactory. More accurate information on nutrition, dietary intake and dietary supplements must be disseminated.

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Assessing matrix assisted laser desorption/ ionization-time of flight-mass spectrometry as a means of rapid embryo protein identification in riceRice embryo proteins were separated by two-dimensional gel electrophoresis (2-DE). A total of 105 spots were digested with trypsin and the resultant peptides were analyzed by matrix assisted laser desorption/ionization-time of flight-mass spectrometry (MALDI-TOF-MS). Raw mass spectra were fully-automatically processed and searched with selected monoisotopic masses against SWISS-PROT/TrEMBL and NCBInr databases. High quality mass spectra were obtained from 53 spots, of which 36 spots were identified including 29 not registered in databases. Fifty percent of the rice embryo proteins resolved in 2-DE could not be identified, indicating more efficient sample preparation techniques need to be developed in the future. At least four to five matching peptides were found to be essential for unambiguous identification of rice embryo proteins; peptide matching of less than four lead to ambiguous results. The suitability of peptide mass fingerprinting method as a means of rapid embryo protein identification in rice was discussed.

抄録 昆布を各種有機酸(シュウ酸・クエン酸・乳酸・コハク酸・リンゴ酸)および有機酸塩(シュウ酸 K・ シュウ酸 Na・クエン酸 K・クエン酸 Na・乳酸 Na・コハク酸 Na・リンゴ酸 Na)溶液にて煮沸した．そ] ．メタボ リックシンドロームの抑制には，食生活の改善が 重要であり，食物繊維が豊富に含まれる野菜・穀 類・海藻類は積極的に摂取することが推奨されて いる． 海藻類の一種である昆布は，グルタミン酸発見 の契機となったことから，我々日本人にとって馴 染み深い食品の一つである．さらに，昆布は乾燥 重量あたり 30％の食物繊維を有しており，有益な 食物繊維供給源である．昆布中に含まれる主な食 物繊維には，アルギン酸，フコイダン，セルロー ス，ラミナランがあり，特にアルギン酸は血漿コ レステロール低下作用 [4] ，フコイダンには抗腫瘍 活性があるといわれている [4] ．昆布や昆布中の食 物繊維に関する実験の多くは，昆布を粉末化した ものや試薬を用いて行われることが多い．しかし， 我々が昆布を食する際，乾燥状態であるため軟化 処理を施す必要がある．したがって，人間栄養学 の観点から昆布によるメタボリックシンドローム 抑制作用を解明するためには，軟化処理を行った 昆布を用いることが重要であると考えた．そこで， 本研究では食品中に含まれる有機酸や有機酸塩を 用いて昆布の軟化処理を行い，それらの昆布軟化 に対する影響を明らかにすることを目的とした． ２. 活動実施報告 本研究では，各種有機酸(シュウ酸・クエン酸・ 乳酸・コハク酸・リンゴ酸)および有機酸塩(シ ュウ酸 K・シュウ酸 Na・クエン酸 K・クエン酸 Na・乳酸 Na・コハク酸 Na・リンゴ酸 Na)溶液で 昆布を煮沸した．その結果，各有機酸溶液の pH は 3-4 であり， 各有機酸塩溶液の pH は 6 前後であ