The concept and treatment of locomotive syndrome: its acceptance and spread in Japan

AbstractIn 2009, the average lifespan of a Japanese male was 79.6 years and that of a female was 86.4 years. This was the highest in the world; about 60 years ago, the average in the Japanese population was approximately 50 years. It is thus apparent that Japan has rapidly been becoming an aged society. In 2010 there were 29,440,000 individuals age 65 or older; this number will increase steadily, and is expected to reach 38,630,000 by 2042. By 2055 the elderly are expected to account for 40.5% of the country's total population

Changes in phenols contents from buckwheat sprouts during growth stage

Germinated buckwheat is buckwheat seeds soaked in water just until it begins to bud. Buckwheat sprouts are seedling plants of buckwheat grown up to 10-15 cm. The purpose of this study was to determine the optimal growth period for accumulating the most abundant functional phenol(s) in germinated buckwheat that had been soaked in darkness and buckwheat sprouts cultivated by hydroponic culture. The rutin contained in germinated buckwheat was analyzed by CE (capillary electrophoresis). Phenols, including isoorientin, orientin, isovitexin, vitexin, and rutin were separated from buckwheat sprouts by HPLC and identified by LC-MS. The highest rutin content in germinated buckwheat was found to be 15.8 mg/100 g DW at 20 h after germination. Buckwheat sprouts contained five kinds of major phenols. The highest amounts of isoorientin, orientin, isovitexin, and vitexin were measured at day 3, with the exception of rutin, and then a gradual decrease was observed as the sprouts grew. The quantities of isoorientin, orientin, isovitexin, and vitexin at day 3 were 5.8, 11.7, 26.2, and 28.9 mg/100 g FW, respectively. The rutin content rapidly increased to 109.0 mg/100 g FW until day 6. The highest total phenols in buckwheat sprouts were 162.9 mg/100 g FW at day 6. Germinated buckwheat soaked for 20 h and buckwheat sprouts cultivated for 6 days were rich in dietary phenol(s), which makes these plants a valuable functional food for human consumption.ArticleJOURNAL OF FOOD SCIENCE AND TECHNOLOGY-MYSORE. 50(1):86-93 (2013)journal articl

Blood-pressure-lowering effect of fermented buckwheat sprouts in spontaneously hypertensive rats

A practical antihypertensive food, neo-fermented buckwheat sprouts (neo-FBS), was produced from buckwheat sprouts by lactic fermentation. The neo-FBS preparation gave a 12.7 times better yield and had a 10 times more potent blood-pressure-lowering (BPL) effect than conventionally prepared products. Neo-FBS decreased both systolic and diastolic blood pressure in spontaneously hypertensive rats (SHRs) at a dose of 0.010 mg/kg, an effect comparable to 1.0 mg/kg captopril, an anti-hypertensive drug. Orally administered neo-FBS (10 mg/kg) significantly decreased angiotensin I-converting enzyme (ACE) activity in the lung, thoracic aorta, heart, kidney, and liver of SHRs. Neo-FBS had a detectable relaxing effect on a phenylephrine-precontracted thoracic aorta in SHRs at 0.5 mu g/mL and the EC50 value was 8.3 +/- 1.4 mu g/mL. The ACE inhibition and vasorelaxation activities were found to be responsible for the excellent BPL effect of neo-FBS. As SHR is a standard model for human hypertension, neo-FBS may also have BPL effects in human patients.ArticleJOURNAL OF FUNCTIONAL FOODS. 5(1):406-415 (2013)journal articl

Correlation of Polyphenolics Content to Antioxidant Activity of Forsythia Suspensa Leaves

Dried ripe fruit of Forsythia suspensa is widely used as traditional Chinese medicine including antifebrile, antiphlogistic, diuretic, drainage and analgesic for tumor and skin diseases. In this research, polyphenols in Forsythia suspensa, which is considered to participate in these physiological functions, were analyzed and the antioxidant activities were also investigated. Forsythia suspensa samples harvested in March 2008 - October 2008 were extracted with 60 % methanol and the polyphenol contents in the extract were investigated by the Folin-ciocalteu method, and the flavonoid contents were investigated by the AlCl3 coloring method. Their anti-oxidization activities were estimated by DPPH radical scavenging activity and ABTS radical scavenging activity. As results, the polyphenol content and the flavonoid content in leaves were higher than those in the flower and the fruit, and DPPH radical scavenging activity and ABTS radical scavenging activity of the leaves were also higher. Changes of polyphenolic contents in the leaves accompanying growth was determined and it turned out that the leaves picked in March had highest polyphenol and flavonoid contents, and highest DPPH and ABTS radical scavenging activities. High correlativity was observed in the polyphenol and flavonoid content, and the radical scavenging activities of the leaves extract, and it was suggested to leaves of Forsythia suspensa that polyphenols with high antioxidant activity were containedOtherShinshu University International Symposium 2010 : Sustainable Agriculture and Environment : Asian Networks II 　信州大学国際シンポジウム2010 : 持続的農業と環境 : アジアネットワークII ― アジアネットワークの発展をめざして―. 信州大学農学部, 2010, 79-84conference pape

Open-field scale-model experiments of fire whirls over L-shaped line fires

This paper presents the results of open-field scale-model experiments of fire-whirl formation over line fires. L-shaped line fires were burned in crosswinds, and the processes of fire-whirl formation were observed. The flame height was measured using an image-processing technique, while two-dimensional velocity components were measured at two different locations using ultrasonic anemometers. Two tests were selected for comparison: test A, in which intense fire whirls repeatedly formed, and test B, in which no whirls were observed. In test A, the wind flow was bent by the fire plume, creating swirling flows near the burning area, thereby forming fire whirls. On the other hand, the crosswind in test B was too fast to be affected by the fire plume. These results confirmed the existence of critical wind velocity to form intense fire whirls. The critical wind velocity, approximately 1 m/s, agreed with the scaling law on the critical wind velocity which was previously developed based on similar experiments of a smaller scale

One-pot esterification and amidation of phenolic acids

We developed a new one-pot reaction of phenolic acids to afford the corresponding esters and amides through acyl-protected and activated phenolic acid intermediates. The simultaneous protection/activation of phenolic acids with alkylchloroformates proceeded readily in the presence of DMAP at room temperature; subsequent addition of alcohols or amines afforded the corresponding esters or amides. The use of iso-butyloxycarbonyl as the protecting and activating group in the one-pot reactions afforded phenolic esters or amides in 91% average yield. As a practical example of this convenient synthesis, caffeic acid phenethyl ester (CAPE) was readily synthesized from commercially available caffeic acid and phenethyl alcohol in 95% yield, and an isotopomer of CAPE, [3,10-13C2]CAPE, was synthesized in 91% yield from [3-13C]caffeic acid and 2-[1-13C]phenethyl alcohol. This method may be useful for the convenient esterification and amidation of diverse phenolic acids.ArticleTETRAHEDRON. 70(43):8097-8107 (2014)journal articl