Effects of Bovine Lactoferrin on the Maintenance of Respiratory and Systemic Physical Conditions in Healthy Adults-A Randomized, Double-Blind, Placebo-Controlled Trial.

OBJECTIVES: We investigated the effects of bovine lactoferrin (LF) on the maintenance of the respiratory and systemic physical conditions. METHODS: A randomized, double-blind, placebo-controlled trial was conducted. Healthy adults at Kyushu University of Health and Welfare ingested a placebo or bovine LF (200 mg/day) for 12 weeks. The primary endpoints were the total respiratory and systemic symptom scores. The secondary endpoint was the activity of plasmacytoid dendritic cells (pDCs) in peripheral blood. RESULTS: A total of 157 subjects were randomized (placebo, n = 79; LF, n = 78), of whom, 12 dropped out. The remaining 145 participants were included in the full analysis set (placebo group, n = 77; LF group, n = 68). The total scores for respiratory and systemic symptoms during the intervention were significantly lower in the LF group than in the placebo group. The expression of CD86 and HLA-DR on pDCs was significantly higher in the LF group than in the placebo group at week 12. Adverse events were comparable between the groups, and no adverse drug reactions were observed. CONCLUSIONS: These results suggest that orally ingested LF supports the normal immune system via maintaining pDC activity, and maintains respiratory and systemic physical conditions in healthy adults.

Time Courses of Gastric Volume and Content after Different Types of Casein Ingestion in Healthy Men: A Randomized Crossover Study.

BACKGROUND: Few studies have evaluated differences in the curd-forming ability of casein on gastric volume and content directly after ingestion in humans. OBJECTIVES: This study evaluated the time course of gastric volume and curd conditions in the stomach after protein ingestion. METHODS: This was an open-labeled, randomized crossover trial. Ten healthy men [age: 33.4 ± 7.3 y; BMI (kg/m2): 21.9 ± 0.9] received 350 g of 3 isonitrogenous and isocaloric protein drinks containing 30 g micellar casein (MCN), sodium caseinate (SCN), or whey protein concentrate (WPC). The gastric antrum cross-sectional area (CSA) and curd in the stomach were measured using ultrasonography within 5 h after ingestion. The differences between test foods were tested using the MIXED model and post hoc tests using Fisher's protected least significant difference. RESULTS: The incremental AUC of the gastric antrum CSA after MCN ingestion was 1.3-fold and 1.5-fold higher than that after the ingestion of SCN and WPC, respectively (both P < 0.05), but not different between SCN and WPC. The number of participants with curds ≥20 mm with a high echogenicity clot observed in the stomach within 5 h after MCN ingestion was significantly greater than that after the ingestion of other proteins (n = 9 for MCN, n = 2 for SCN, and n = 0 for WPC; bothP < 0.01). The regression line slopes on total plasma amino acid concentration and gastric antrum CSA were significantly different between the participants with and without curds. CONCLUSIONS: In contrast to SCN and WPC, MCN ingestion resulted in slow kinetics of gastric antrum CSA. Differences in curd formation of casein in the stomach affect gastric emptying and plasma amino acid absorption kinetics after ingestion in healthy men. This trial was registered at University Hospital Medical Information Network Clinical Trials Registry as UMIN000038388 (https://center6.umin.ac.jp/cgi-open-bin/ctr_e/ctr_view.cgi?recptno=R000043746).

Effects of Glucose with Casein Peptide Supplementation on Post-Exercise Muscle Glycogen Resynthesis in C57BL/6J Mice.

Numerous studies have reported that post-exercise ingestion of carbohydrates with protein supplementation can enhance glycogen recovery. However, few reports have focused on the degrees of degradation of the ingested proteins due to post-exercise glycogen resynthesis. Accordingly, the aim of this study was to clarify the effects of differences in protein degradation on muscle glycogen recovery. Male seven-week-old C57BL/6J mice performed a single bout of 60-min treadmill running exercise and were then orally administered glucose (Glu; 1.5 mg/g body weight (BW)), glucose with casein peptide (Glu + Pep; 1.5 + 0.5 mg/g BW) or its constituent amino acid mixture (Glu + AA; 1.5 + 0.5 mg/g BW). At 120 min after supplementation, the soleus muscle glycogen content in the Glu and Glu + AA groups was significantly higher than that immediately after exercise; however, no such difference was observed in the Glu + Pep group. Blood substrate concentration and insulin signaling did not differ among the three groups. Furthermore, energy expenditure during the recovery period in the Glu + Pep group was significantly higher than that in the Glu and Glu + AA groups. These findings suggest that post-exercise co-ingestion of glucose and casein peptide might delay glycogen resynthesis, at least in part through increased energy expenditure caused by casein peptide ingestion.

Comparison of Spinach Sex Chromosomes with Sugar Beet Autosomes Reveals Extensive Synteny and Low Recombination at the Male-Determining Locus.

Spinach (Spinacia oleracea, 2n = 12) and sugar beet (Beta vulgaris, 2n = 18) are important crop members of the family Chenopodiaceae ss Sugar beet has a basic chromosome number of 9 and a cosexual breeding system, as do most members of the Chenopodiaceae ss. family. By contrast, spinach has a basic chromosome number of 6 and, although certain cultivars and genotypes produce monoecious plants, is considered to be a dioecious species. The loci determining male and monoecious sexual expression were mapped to different loci on the spinach sex chromosomes. In this study, a linkage map with 46 mapped protein-coding sequences was constructed for the spinach sex chromosomes. Comparison of the linkage map with a reference genome sequence of sugar beet revealed that the spinach sex chromosomes exhibited extensive synteny with sugar beet chromosomes 4 and 9. Tightly linked protein-coding genes linked to the male-determining locus in spinach corresponded to genes located in or around the putative pericentromeric and centromeric regions of sugar beet chromosomes 4 and 9, supporting the observation that recombination rates were low in the vicinity of the male-determining locus. The locus for monoecism was confined to a chromosomal segment corresponding to a region of approximately 1.7Mb on sugar beet chromosome 9, which may facilitate future positional cloning of the locus.