1. A modified heart rate (HR) method for predicting total energy expenditure (TEE) was cross-validated against whole-body calorimetry (CAL). Minute-by-minute HR was converted to energy expenditure (EE) using individual calibration curves when HR exceeded a pre-determined ‘FLEX’ value designed to discriminate periods of activity. (‘FLEX’ HR was defined as the mean of the highest HR during rest and the lowest HR during the lightest imposed exercise.) Sedentary EE (below FLEX) was calculated as the mean EE during lying down, sitting and standing at rest. Sleeping EE was calculated as basal metabolic rate (BMR) predicted from standard equations.

2. Calibration curves of oxygen consumption v. HR for different postures at rest and during exercise were obtained for twenty healthy subjects (eleven male, nine female); mean r 0.941 (SD 0.04). The mean FLEX HR for men and women were 86 (sd 10) and 96 (SD 6) beats/min respectively.

3. Simultaneous measurements of HR and EE were made during 21 h continuous CAL, which included 4 x 30 min imposed exercise (cycling, rowing, stepping, jogging). HR exceeded FLEX for a mean of 98 (SD 41) min. Mean TEE by CAL (TEE. CAL) was 8063 (sd 1445) kJ.

4. The HR method yielded a mean non-significant underestimate in TEE (TEE. HR) of 1.2 (sd 6.2)% (range−11.4 to + 10.6 %). Regression of TEE. HR (y) v. TEE. CAL (X) yielded Y = 0.868 X +927 kJ, r 0.943, se of the estimate 458 kJ, n 20.

5. The satisfactory predictive power and low cost of the method makes it suitable for many field and epidemiological applications.

1. Supplementing the drinking water of laying hens with 600 or 2000 mg sodium chloride/l induced large increases in egg-shell defects without corresponding changes in egg production, egg weight or food and water intakes. A supplement of 2000 mg NaCl/l resulted in a high incidence of shell-less eggs.

2. The increased incidence of egg-shell damage in hens receiving the NaCl was associated with a decrease in egg-shell quality measured objectively. These responses persisted even after the NaCl was removed from the drinking water.

3. The NaCl treatment had little effect on blood acid-base balance and electrolytes, but significant reductions were observed in the carbon dioxide tension, and bicarbonate and calcium concentrations in the fluid surrounding the egg in the shell gland.

4. The poor shell quality appeared to be associated with a reduced supply of bicarbonate, rather than with an effect on Ca, in the lumen of the shell gland, although a reduced residence time of eggs in the shell gland may also have contributed to the problem.

1. The effects of riboflavin deficiency on growth, whole-body oxygen consumption, cytochrome c oxidase (EC 1.9.3.1) activity and GDP-binding capacity of brown adipose tissue were measured in three groups of rats: sucking pups, weanling rats, and dams. Control groups were weight-matched, pair-fed or fed ad lib.

2. Riboflavin deficiency reduced growth rate and increased the activation coefficient of erythrocyte glutathione reductase (NAD(P)H) (EC 1.6.4.2), as predicted. In sucking pups it also reduced whole-body O2 consumption per unit body-weight, especially after noradrenaline stimulation. In weanling rats, however, it increased O2 consumption both before and after noradrenaline stimulation.

3. Cytochrome c oxidase (EC 1.9.9.1) activity of brown adipose tissue was not consistently affected by riboflavin deficiency. Binding of [3H]GDP to the mitochondria was increased in the deficient weanling rats.

4. Weanling rats therefore, seemed better able to withstand the effects of severe depletion. Their reduced growth and increased non-shivering thermogenesis helped to counteract the unfavourable ratio of riboflavin: other tissuebuilding materials. The relevance for thermoregulation in riboflavin-deficient children is discussed.

1. Eight women were studied under metabolic-ward conditions while consuming a constant diet throughout a single menstrual cycle. Basal body temperature, salivary and urinary hormone concentrations were used in monitoring the cycle and designing the study so that whole-body calorimetry for 36 h was conducted at four phases of the cycle in relation to the time of ovulation.

2. The metabolic rate during sleep showed cyclical changes, being lowest in the late follicular phase and highest in the late luteal phase. The increase amounted to 6.1 (SD 2.7)%. Energy expenditure (24 h) also increased but the change was not statistically significant (P > 0.05). Exercise efficiency did not change during the cycle.

3. There were no significant changes in plasma thyroxine, 3, 5, 3'-triiodothyronine or free 3, 5, 3'-triiodothyronine concentrations to explain the metabolic rate changes; nor did they relate to urinary luteinizing hormone, pregnanediol-3α-glucuronide or oestrone-3-glucuronide excretion rates. No link with salivary cortisol or progesterone concentrations was observed, but there was a small inverse relation between the individual increase in sleeping metabolic rate and the subjects' falling ratio of urinary oestrone-3-glucuronide: pregnanediol-3α-glucuronide.

1. Analbuminaemic and Sprague-Dawley (control) rats were fed on low- (60 g/kg) protein and control (200 g protein/kg) diets ad lib. from weaning. Males and females were studied separately. Body-weight and plasma protein concentrations were determined at 10 d intervals from 25 to 75 d of age. Electrophoresis of plasma proteins was performed in samples from day 75. Extracellular fluid volume was measured at 10 d intervals from day 45 onwards. Colloid osmotic pressure was measured in plasma and interstitial fluid (wick technique) at the start and end of the trial.

2. Body-weight increased much less on the low-protein diet than on the normal diet in both strains and sexes. The growth retardation was slightly more pronounced in the male analbuminaemic rats than in the male Sprague-Dawley controls.

3. Plasma protein concentration increased during normal growth in all groups, particularly in the female analbuminaemic rats. This increase was reduced by the 60 g protein/kg diet in all groups, with the exception of the male analbuminaemic rats.

4. Differences in plasma colloid osmotic pressure were similar to those seen in plasma protein concentration. Interstitial colloid osmotic pressure was higher in the control rats than in the analbuminaemic ones. The interstitial colloid osmotic pressure increased during growth in the control but not in the analbuminaemic rats. The difference in interstitial colloid osmotic pressure between the strains was maintained during low-protein intake, but at a lower level than during normal protein intake.

5. Subtracting interstitial from plasma colloid osmotic pressure, resulted in a rather similar transcapillary oncotic gradient in the various groups at 75 d, both on the control protein diet (11–14 mmHg), and on the lowprotein diet (9–11 mmHg).

6. All protein fractions were reduced to a similar extent by the low-protein diet in the control rats, whereas in the analbuminaemic rats protein fractions produced in the liver were more severely depressed.

7. Extracellular fluid volume as a percentage of body-weight was similar in all groups, and decreased with increasing age.

8. In conclusion, the analbuminaemic rats were able to maintain the transcapillary oncotic gradient on both diets by reducing the interstitial colloid osmotic pressure. Oedema was not observed.

9. Despite the absence of albumin, the protein-malnourished analbuminaemic rat is no more susceptible to hypoproteinaemia and oedema than its normal counterpart.

1. Two experiments are described in which kinetic aspects of calcium metabolism were studied in housed lactating sheep consuming different fresh herbage species. The importance of protein supply was also investigated.

2. In Expt. 1, two groups (n 4) were offered, ad lib., a freshly cut ryegrass (Lolium perenne L.)-white clover (Trifolium repens L.) pasture containing 5·48 g Ca/kg dry matter (DM). One group was supplemented daily with 100 g protected casein. A third group (n 4) was offered, ad lib., freshly cut oats-Tama ryegass (Lolium multiflorum L.) herbage which had a lower Ca content of 3·07 g Ca/kg DM. Stable Ca and nitrogen balances were carried out during the first 7 weeks of lactation. At this stage 180 μCi45Ca were administered for Ca kinetic studies.

3. In Expt 2, eight sheep were offered, ad lib., a fresh ryegrass–white clover pasture, and paired on the basis of their udder size. One member of each pair was supplemented daily with 100 g casein via the abomasum and the amount of milk removed was equalized between pairs. Ca and N balances (12 d) and Ca kinetic studies (280 μCi 45Ca) were carried out during weeks 2 and 5 of lactation.

4. Rate of absorption of Ca increased, while rate of Ca secretion in milk and resorption from bone decreased as lactation progressed. Ca balances changed from negative to positive as lactation progressed in sheep offered ryegrass–white clover, but, while improving, were always negative in sheep offered oats–Tama ryegrass. Protein supplementation increased (18%) milk production of the ewes in Expt 1 and their retention of N in Expt 2.

5. The proportion of utilized Ca derived from the diet, as opposed to the skeleton, tended to increase as a result of protein supplementation.

6. Availability of Ca from ryegrass–white clover ranged from 0.19 to 0.32, even though only 50% of the net Ca requirement was derived from the diet. Availability of Ca from the oats–Tama ryegrass diet was similar, though in this case less than 20% of the net Ca requirement was derived from the diet. It was concluded that availability of Ca from forage diets may be lower than previously anticipated.

7. Faecal endogenous loss ranged from 16 to 40 mg Ca/kg body-weight per d, and was similar on both diets.

8. These and other findings are used to discuss more fully the subject of Ca nutrition in sheep, in particular, the implications of the strong homeostatic control of Ca absorption and the influence of protein status on the relative contribution of the diet and the skeleton in meeting the net Ca requirement of the ewe during lactation.

1. Seventeen male subjects with an energy intake of 10.6 (sd 1.7) MJ/d and ten male undernourished labourers with an energy intake of 8.0 (sd 1.2) MJ/d were studied. The controls were subdivided into ten underweight controls with a body mass index (weight/height2; BMI) < 18 (17.2 (sd 0.9)) and seven normal-weight controls with a BMI > 20 (21.3 (sd 1.6)), while the undernourished labourers had a BMI < 18 (16.8 (sd 1.2)).

2. Comparison of thermogenic responses to increasing doses of noradrenaline showed no overall significant inter-group differences when subjected to a nested analysis of variance (ANOVA). For the initial doses of 0.05 and 0.1 μg noradrenaline, significantly lower responses were seen in the undernourished subjects, while the highest dose showed comparable responses in all three groups. Thermogenic responses to the initial two doses, when corrected for fat-free mass (FFM) differences, were 40 % lower in the undernourished group when compared with the underweight group with similar BMI and FFM values. However, this finding was not statistically significant.

3. The basal oxygen consumption of the undernourished group, expressed per unit FFM, was significantly higher than that of the controls.

1. Rats fed on a protein-depleted diet for 8 weeks were repleted for 5 weeks on high-protein (HP), high-protein+20 g DL-carnitine/kg (HP +C), or low-protein + 20 g DL-carnitine/kg (LP +C) diets. At 4 and 8 weeks of depletion, and 1 and 5 weeks of repletion, rats from each treatment group were given a benzoic acid tolerance test (BATT) or a cinnamic acid tolerance test (CATT) as a measure of liver function.

2. BATT and CATT measured the molar percentage of a test dose (1 mmol/kg body-weight) of benzoic acid or cinnamic acid excreted in the urine as hippuric acid within 24 h. Liver weight, liver lipid levels, and carnitine concentration in plasma and liver were also measured following liver-function testing.

3. BATT and CATT were severely impaired in protein-depleted rats, but returned rapidly to control levels following protein refeeding. Correlations of BATT and CATT with liver lipid concentration were high (r -0.49 and -0.62 respectively), and both tests show promise as clinical tests for liver function in protein-energy malnutrition.

4. Carnitine supplementation was required to return liver carnitine concentration of protein-depleted rats to control levels during repletion, but was not associated with accelerated reduction in liver fat concentration in protein-repleted rats.

1. Two groups of eight 6–7-month-old wether lambs were offered either a frozen ryegrass (Lolium perenne L.)-white clover (Trifolium repens L.) pasture or a ryegrass-white clover hay, containing 12.1 and 6.4 g calcium/ kg dry matter (DM) respectively. Within groups the amounts offered to individual sheep ranged from 0.5 to 2.0 times the estimated maintenance energy requirements.

2. A single intravenous injection of 150 μCi 45Ca as CaCl2. 2H2O, and stable balances were used to determine absorption, faecal endogenous loss and balance of Ca.

3. Faecal endogenous loss of Ca increased by 1.2 mg/kg body-weight (W) per d with each g/kg W per d increase in DM intake regardless of the diet. At any DM intake the mean faecal endogenous loss was 5.5 mg/kg W per d higher in the sheep offered the frozen herbage diet when compared with those on the hay diet. At any Ca intake the mean faecal endogenous loss was 6.9 mg/kg W higher in sheep offered the hay diet compared with those on the frozen herbage.

4. At feeding levels of about 1.5–2 times the estimated maintenance energy requirement the observed faecal endogenous loss of Ca ranged from 35 to 50 mg/kg W per d, which is two- to threefold greater than the present estimate of the Agricultural Research Council (1980) of 16 mg/kg W per d.

5. A simple model to explain the variation in faecal endogenous loss of Ca between the present study with young sheep and that with lactating ewes (Chrisp et al. 1989) also offered herbage diets is developed, which incorporates the concept of a true endogenous loss related to DM intake and a net endogenous loss reflecting the extent of re-absorption of Ca endogenous losses within the gastrointestinal tract.

1. Procedures are described to prepare nutritionally adequate rat milk-substitutes by modifying commercially available processed cow's milk, rich in carbohydrate and low in protein and fat compared with rat's milk.

2. Premilk formulas, prepared as intermediates in the preparation of rat milk-substitutes, are rich in protein but low in their concentration of fat, carbohydrate, and minerals when compared with rat's milk.

3. Premilks were supplemented with lactose, vitamins, minerals, fat as oil mixtures, certain amino acids and other constituents to yield rat milk-substitutes which resemble the known composition of rat's milk in their properties and composition.

4. Detailed analyses of the milk-substitutes show them to be comparable to rat's milk in energy content, pH, osmolarity, the concentration of the macronutrients, fat, protein and carbohydrate, and the major minerals.

5. Rat pups were artificially reared from postnatal day 4 or 5 until days 16–18 by fitting them with gastric cannulas through which the milk-substitutes could be infused automatically.

6. The nutritional impact of the milk-substitutes was assessed by a comparison of growth and mctabolic characteristics for artificially reared rats with age-matched sucking rats reared by their mother.

7. Indices which were taken to be appropriate included (a) body-weight gain; (b) the concentration in blood of protein, amino acids, ketone bodies, carnitine, glucose, galactose, lactate, insulin, and the electrolytes calcium, sodium, potassium and chloride; (c) the turnover of glucose and 3-hydroxybutyrate; (d) the concentration in brain of protein, cholesterol, cerebroside sulphate and the activities of the enzymes pyruvate dehydrogenase (EC 1.2.4.1), 3-oxo-acid-CoA transferase (EC 2.8.3.5) and acetoacetyl-CoA ligase (EC 6.2.1.16).

8. The studies suggest that milk-substitutes approximating to rat's milk in composition promote acceptable metabolism in the artificially reared rat pup.

1. Six growing pigs fitted with portal and arterial blood cannulas were given a barley-fishmeal diet, either alone or supplemented with guar gum at 60 g/kg basal diet. Blood samples were taken during 8 h following test meals given at 08.00 hours.

2. Ingestion of the guar-gum-supplemented diet appeared to increase systematically portal and arterial levels of plasma urea. At peak values, 4 and 5 h after the test meal, this effect was statistically significant (P <0.05).

3. Irrespective of which diet was given, portal and arterial blood samples, withdrawn at the same time, were found to have about the same concentration of urea. This was found throughout the 8 h studied and implies that no net exchange of urea between the circulation and the gastrointestinal tract, as a whole, took place.

4. In the time-period 30–60 min following the test meal, guar gum significantly reduced the postprandial hyperglycaemia and hyperinsulinaemia in portal blood.

1. Wistar rats were fed for three successive generations on a semi-purified diet, in which the fat was provided by butter, sunflower oil, rapeseed oil or hydrogenated vegetable fat, differing in the content of cis, cis-18:2 and trans-18:1 fatty acids. Effects of these fats on the composition of adipose tissue and reproductive performance were studied. Fatty acids were analysed using high-performance liquid chromatography.

2. The fatty acid pattern of adipose tissue was closely related to dietary fat composition and, established in the first generation, did not change significantly in successive generations of rats.

3. Hydrogenated fat adversely affected litter size, sperm morphology and regularity of oestrous cycle, and prolonged the period of gestation in experimental animals. Differences observed between the generations were not significant.

4. Hydrogenated fat decreased the level of serum testosterone in males, but the differences observed in levels of serum progesterone in females were not apparently related to the dietary trans-fatty acids.

1. Broiler chickens growing from 7 to 28 d of age were given: (1) a 210 g protein/kg control diet for the entire experimental period, (2) an intermittent feeding regimen (210 g protein/kg diet for either 1 or 2 d followed by a 1 d fast), or (3) a daily change in the dietary protein level from 120 to 300 g/kg diet. Treatment variables examined were lipogenesis and glucose production in vitro, and circulating concentrations of insulin, triiodothyronine (T3) and thyroxine (T4) to determine the effects of chronic or acute dietary treatments.

2. Giving the 300 g protein/kg diet or withholding feed for 1 d decreased (P < 0.05) lipogenesis in vitro compared with controls.

3. Giving the 120 g protein/kg diet or refeeding with a 210 g protein/kg diet for 1 or 2 d increased (P < 0.05) lipogenesis in vitro compared with controls. Glucose production was affected in the same manner.

4. Fasting decreased (P < 0.05) plasma insulin and T3 and increased T4. Both refeeding and a low-protein diet increased T3. Refeeding increased and a low-protein diet decreased insulin.

5. Chronic use (7-28 d of age) of either an alternating protein or intermittent feeding regimen caused greater responses compared with acute bouts (single cycle) of either of the regimens.

1. Male rats at 1 (young) and 9 months (adult) of age were fed on purified diets, supplemented with or without cholesterol, containing 200 g protein/kg (casein (CAS), whey protein (WHY) or soya-bean protein (SOY)) for 4 weeks.

2. SOY exerted a hypocholesterolaemic effect in young rats regardless of dietary cholesterol, whereas in adult rats it was observed only when a cholesterol-enriched diet was given. WHY was also hypocholesterolaemic in rats of both ages given cholesterol. SOY tended to reduce the liver cholesterol both in young and adult rats.

3. The liver hydroxymethylglutaryl-CoA reductase (NADPH) (EC 1.1.1.34) activity tended to be lower in the vegetable-protein groups than in the animal-protein groups in young rats, but the age-related reduction was observed only in the latter groups.

4. There was no significant age-related difference in the activity of liver cholesterol 7α-monooxygenase (EC 1.14.13.17) in response to diets. However, when cholesterol was given, activity tended to decrease with age. Rats given SOY excreted more faecal steroids than those given casein, particularly adult rats.

5. The fatty acid profile of phosphatidylcholine and the Δ6-desaturase activity of liver microsomes indicated the reduced desaturation of linoleate in the SOY and WHY groups compared with the CAS groups.

6. The results thus showed a complex interaction of protein type, cholesterol and age on cholesterol homeostasis.

1. The associative effects of two fibre sources on ileal and overall digestibility of amino acids, energy and cell-wall components were studied by comparing wheat bran and soya-bean hulls in semi-purified diets given to growing pigs.

2. Castrated male pigs were prepared with ileo-rectal anastomosis to measure ileal digestibility, and overall digestibility was measured in pigs without anastomosis.

3. The three diets contained 190 g total fibre/kg dry matter (DM), derived from each fibre source or from a mixture of both fibre sources, so that each source provided half the amount of total fibre, and 170 g crude protein (nitrogen x 6·25)/kg DM by additions of casein.

4. The effects of fibre sources on the ileal digestibility of amino acids were additive for most amino acids; the only significant interactions were found for threonine, methionine and aspartic acid. In contrast with ileal digestibility, systematic negative interactions between fibre sources on overall digestibility of amino acids were noted.

5. There was no interaction between fibre sources in their effects on the digestibility of energy or of cell-wall components, irrespective of the site of digestion. The digestibility values were higher with soya-bean hulls than with wheat bran, especially at the faecal level.

6. It is concluded that ileal digestibility of amino acids provides a better estimate of amino acid availability, as ileal measurements allow a better discrimination between diets than faecal measurements when distinct fibre sources are used alone or in combination at the same total fibre content. In contrast, for energy, the measurement of digestibility at both faecal and ileal levels permits the estimation of the partition of available nutrients between the small and large intestines.

1. Three experiments were conducted to investigate the influence of dietary energy intake on whole-body protein turnover in chicks.

2. In Expt 1 a semi-purified diet with various dietary metabolizable energy (ME) concentrations, 10.9, 12.6, 14.2 and 15.9 kJ/g, was fed ad lib. to young chicks. Whole-body fractional synthesis rate (FSR) was increased with each increment in dietary ME level from 12.6 to 15.9 kJ/g, and whole-body fractional degradation rate (FDR) showed a similar, though less sensitive, trend to that of FSR.

3. In Expts 2 and 3, chicks were given graded ME intakes of 84, 126, 167, 209 or 293 kJ/d with a fixed intake of dietary protein. FSR was increased when the energy intake was raised from 84 to 167 kJ/d, and above this level it was almost constant. Similar to the trend obtained with ad lib. feeding, the response of FDR to changes in dietary energy intake was less sensitive than that of FSR.

4. Total heat production was increased when dietary energy intake was increased from 84 to 167 kJ/d, and there was no further increase at 209 kJ/d. In contrast, the contribution of protein synthesis to total heat production was not affected by varying the dietary energy intake.

1. The effect of intermittent feeding in chickens of heavy breed (HB; meat type) and light breed (LB; egg type) on skeletal muscle growth and composition was studied in adapted and non-adapted chickens.

2. Food intake, relative to body-weight, was similar in both breeds but was higher in ad lib.-fed than in intermittently fed birds.

3. On repletion days the relative growth rate was similar in both breeds, while on depletion the LB chickens lost more weight than the HB chickens. In both breeds, the relative growth was higher in the intermittently fed birds during days of food restoration than in those fed ad lib.

4. The relative weight of the breast muscle was higher in HB birds than in LB birds, but deposition rate on the day of food restoration was similar in both breeds. This growth was more pronounced in chickens adapted to alternate feeding than in chickens exposed to this feeding regimen for one cycle.

5. Protein concentration in breast muscle was not affected by age and was slightly higher in LB chickens than in HB chickens. Soluble protein was markedly reduced on days of repletion, and more at 46d than at 18d of age.

6. The RNA:DNA ratio was higher in HB than in LB chickens, and lower on days of food deprivation than on days of food restoration. After repletion this ratio returned to the level of the ad lib.-fed chickens. While in LB chickens cell size (as estimated by DNA concentration) remained constant on repletion and depletion days, in the HB chickens it decreased.

7. The rapid growth of breast muscle in HB chickens was attributed to the higher rate of protein synthesis (estimated by RNA:DNA ratio) compared with LB chickens. This may also explain why the breast muscle of LB chickens was less sensitive to intermittent feeding than that of HB chickens.

1. Maternal and umbilical cord plasma samples were collected from forty-seven Asian women, twenty-eight lifelong vegetarians and seventeen non-vegetarians, during delivery of their babies. The concentrations and fatty acid profiles of the plasma free fatty acid and triacylglycerol fractions were determined.

2. There were no significant differences between the levels of free fatty acid and triacylglycerol in either maternal or cord plasma from vegetarian compared with non-vegetarian Asian women. The fatty acid profiles of the lipid fractions in the two groups were similar. Total plasma free fatty acid levels in the maternal circulation correlated with umbilical cord levels.

3. The levels of linoleic acid in the maternal plasma free fatty acid fraction of the Asian women were much higher than previous reports on mixed populations of European women. In the Asian women arachidonic acid concentrations in both maternal and umbilical circulations were over four times higher than those reported for women unselected for race and diet.

1. Bile acids were analysed in the bile and lumen samples of rats which received a cholesterol-free or cholesterol-enriched (5 g/kg) diet free from fibre, or containing cellulose or citrus pectin at the level of 100 g/kg.

2. Dietary pectin but not cellulose increased biliary bile acid concentration and excretion. Dietary cholesterol did not affect biliary bile acids quantitatively.

3. Biliary bile acids were almost exclusively conjugated with glycine or taurine in the various experimental situations. The predominant portion of bile acids in rats fed on the cholesterol-free diet was conjugated with taurine when the diet was either free from fibre or contained cellulose; the ratio of bile acids conjugated with glycine: those conjugated with taurine (G:T) was less than 0·2. In contrast, with pectin as a fibre source, the conjugation with glycine increased enormously (G:T increased to approximately 4). Cholesterol enrichment of the diet also increased the glycine conjugation in all groups of rats. Even in this situation, the G:T was highest in rats fed on pectin.

4. Pectin, but not cellulose, increased the bile acid content of the small intestine and caecum, both in rats fed on the cholesterol-free and cholesterol-enriched diets. Cholesterol feeding doubled the bile acid content of the caecum in rats fed on a fibre-free diet or a cellulose diet, but not in those fed on pectin. No such effect of cholesterol was observed in the small intestine, except for the ileal bile acid content in rats fed on cellulose.

5. A considerable portion of the bile acids in the small intestine was deconjugated. The extent of the deconjugation was higher in the ileum than in the jejunum. As in the bile, G:T in rats fed on pectin (3·5·5) were higher than those in the other groups (0·05–1·05) in various situations. Also, cholesterol feeding considerably increased the ratio in all groups of rats.

6. The observed dietary alteration of the partition of bile acids between glycine and taurine may be of physiological significance in regulating bile acid and lipid metabolism in rats.

1. Thirteen normo-cholesterolaemic male students consumed one 450 g can of baked beans (Phaseolus vulgaris) in tomato sauce, daily, for 14 d as part of their normal diet. After a 14 d washout period, eleven of the students went on to consume one 440 g can of spaghetti in tomato sauce, daily, for 14 d.

2. Fasting blood samples were taken frequently for measurement of plasma cholesterol, high-density lipoprotein (HDL)-cholesterol, triacylglycerols, glucose, insulin and C-peptide. Diet diaries (3 d) were completed by the subjects during each period.

3. Consumption of beans and spaghetti led to a significant reduction in the amount of fat eaten daily (P < 0.05). Bean consumption also resulted in significant increases in protein, fibre and sugar intakes (P < 0.02, P < 0.001 and P < 0.05 respectively).

4. During the bean-eating period the mean total plasma cholesterol level of the students fell significantly from 5.1 to 4.5 mmol/l (P < 0.02). No reduction in plasma cholesterol occurred during the spaghetti-eating period.

5. HDL-cholesterol levels fell significantly during both periods (P < 0.001), but HDL:total cholesterol ratio was significantly reduced only during the spaghetti-eating period (P < 0.001). Neither beans nor spaghetti affected triacylglycerol, insulin or C-peptide levels.

6. The benefits of a legume-rich diet are discussed.