Gene/Protein Disease Symptom Drug Enzyme Compound
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Query: UMLS:C0020175 (hunger)
 5,670 document(s) hit in 31,850,051 MEDLINE articles (0.00 seconds)

As the search for alternative sources of food to alleviate hunger continues, this study was undertaken to determine the biological value in growing rats (BV) of proteins of some lesser known tropical seeds gathered in Nigeria. Antinutritional factors (trypsin inhibitors, phytic acid, oxalate, tannin, alkaloids) and amino acid compositions were also determined, and protein digestibility-corrected amino acid score (PDCAAS) was calculated using the amino acid requirement pattern of the preschool child and individual seed-specific correction factors for crude protein. A rat growth and balance study was conducted to determine digestibility, nitrogen-, and energy balance by feeding as the only unsupplemented protein source milled and heat-treated seeds of Adansonia digitata (Bombacaceae) and Prosopis africana, Lonchocarpus sericeus, Enterolobium cyclocarpium, Sesbania pachycarpa and Pterocarpus osun (Leguminosae) in comparison to casein fortified with methionine (control). Diets containing P. africana and L. sericeus seeds caused poor feed intake and weight loss in rats and were excluded from the nitrogen-balance test. Among the seed samples, S. pachycarpa followed by A. digitata showed the most advantageous nutritional quality [amino acid composition, digestibility, BV and net protein utilization (NPU)]. True digestibility was 82.9 and 74.5 vs. 98.5, BV was 64.6 and 70.0 vs. 90.4, and NPU was 53.5 and 52.1 vs. 89.0 for S. pachycarpa and A. digitata vs. casein (control), respectively. In terms of PDCAAS, lysine was the first limiting amino acid for S. pachycarpa (88%) and for A. digitata (58%). The PDCAAS of all essential amino acids was below 100% for E. cyclocarpium (e.g., cysteine + methionine: 37%) and for P. africana (e.g., threonine: 46%, except valine and a very high content of cysteine and methionine). In conclusion, all seeds tested in the rat balance trial were of inferior quality compared to casein. Before these tropical seeds could be used as food components or feed supplements, safety studies and proper processing to remove antinutritional factors and possible toxic constituents were required.
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PMID:Low nutritional quality of unconventional tropical crop seeds in rats. 980 58

The effect of taste stimulation on serum free-amino acid concentrations and amylase and trypsin activities in fasting rats was studied. Following an acclimation period of 5 d, male Sprague-Dawley rats were fasted for 4 d and sacrificed after taste stimulation with a palatable sodium saccharin or unpalatable quinine sulfate flavored diet. Blood was collected from the portal vein and inferior vena cava at 0, 5, 10, 20 and 30 min after taste stimulation. Intestinal contents were also collected at the same time intervals as the blood collections. Total amino acid concentrations in the saccharin stimulated group increased significantly at 5 and 20 min following taste stimulation in comparison with the control of 0 time in the portal vein, and a significant difference between the saccharin and quinine stimulated groups was also observed at 5 min. No difference was found in the inferior vena cava. A high level of alanine and low level of glutamine were depicted in the portal vein as compared to that of the inferior vena cava. The elevation of alanine that is gluconeogenic amino acid was remarkable in the saccharin group at 20 min in the portal vein. Moreover, amylase and trypsin activities in the saccharin group reached peak values promptly and kept constant throughout the experiment as compared to the quinine group. The results suggest that taste stimulation originates changes in the cephalic phase amino acid concentrations in the portal vein and that taste information, overcoming a hunger, plays an important role in amino acid metabolism and digestive enzyme activities. Therefore, eating with gusto is significant for the maintenance of body functions even under starvation conditions.
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PMID:Effects of taste stimulation on the behavior of serum amino acid concentrations and amylase and trypsin activities in fasting rats. 1073 27