Effect of Properties of Sports Surface and Clothing Materials on Human Thermal Load Under Hot Environment

AbstractThe physiological reaction and mental action of a human body was observed for four different sports surfaces and for clothing of six different colours during exercise to gain a better understanding of human thermal conditions outdoors. The radiative properties of each surface and clothing were determined before the experiments; thus, human thermal load including environmental conditions was calculated. Different radiation properties were quantitatively determined to affect human thermal load; in addition, one type of functional sportswear prototype for reducing thermal load by property modification was evaluated. Subjective results indicate that for future clothing design, other thermal properties have to be considered along with the radiative properties

Fenugreek with reduced bitterness prevents diet-induced metabolic disorders in rats

Background: Various therapeutic effects of fenugreek (Trigonella foenum-graecum L.) on metabolic disorders have been reported. However, the bitterness of fenugreek makes it hard for humans to eat sufficient doses of it for achieving therapeutic effects. Fenugreek contains bitter saponins such as protodioscin. Fenugreek with reduced bitterness (FRB) is prepared by treating fenugreek with beta-glucosidase. This study has been undertaken to evaluate the effects of FRB on metabolic disorders in rats.Open Access http://www.lipidworld.com/content/11/1/58 ? 2012 Muraki et al.; licensee BioMed Central Ltd

Fenugreek with reduced bitterness prevents diet-induced metabolic disorders in rats

Abstract Background Various therapeutic effects of fenugreek (Trigonella foenum-graecum L.) on metabolic disorders have been reported. However, the bitterness of fenugreek makes it hard for humans to eat sufficient doses of it for achieving therapeutic effects. Fenugreek contains bitter saponins such as protodioscin. Fenugreek with reduced bitterness (FRB) is prepared by treating fenugreek with beta-glucosidase. This study has been undertaken to evaluate the effects of FRB on metabolic disorders in rats. Methods Forty Sprague–Dawley rats were fed with high-fat high-sucrose (HFS) diet for 12 week to induce mild glucose and lipid disorders. Afterwards, the rats were divided into 5 groups. In the experiment 1, each group (n = 8) was fed with HFS, or HFS containing 2.4% fenugreek, or HFS containing 1.2%, 2.4% and 4.8% FRB, respectively, for 12 week. In the experiment 2, we examined the effects of lower doses of FRB (0.12%, 0.24% and 1.2%) under the same protocol (n = 7 in each groups). Results In the experiment 1, FRB dose-dependently reduced food intake, body weight gain, epididymal white adipose tissue (EWAT) and soleus muscle weight. FRB also lowered plasma and hepatic lipid levels and increased fecal lipid levels, both dose-dependently. The Plasma total cholesterol levels (mmol/L) in the three FRB and Ctrl groups were 1.58 ± 0.09, 1.45 ± 0.05*, 1.29 ± 0.07* and 2.00 ± 0.18, respectively (*; P P P  Conclusions Thus we have demonstrated that FRB (1.2 ~ 4.8%) prevents diet-induced metabolic disorders such as insulin resistance, dyslipidemia and fatty liver.</p