**Chapter 10 185**

Acidosis and Anion Gap *by Md. Masudul Hassan*

### **Chapter 11 199**

Regulatory Functions of α-Amylase in the Small Intestine Other than Starch Digestion: α-Glucosidase Activity, Glucose Absorption, Cell Proliferation, and Differentiation *by Kimie Date*

Preface

Food intake results in a variety of health problems such as obesity, diabetes, thromboembolic diseases, and cardiovascular diseases. These disorders are

This book provides new insights into metabolic syndromes and covers the neural mechanisms of food intake, the relationships between amino acid levels in the blood and brain, food intake and thromboembolism, and the influence of intakes

Minokoshi's paper deals with neural regulation of feeding, which is considered to play a central role in the control of the body's energy balance. Recent studies indicate that neuropeptide Y (NPY)-agoui-related peptide (AgRP) neurons and pro-opiomelanocortin (POMC) neurons in the arcuate nucleus of the hypothalamus seem to be the primary and reciprocal regulators of food intake. Minokoshi further discusses that 5'-Adenosine monophosphates regulated protein kinase (AMPK) regulated corticotropin-releasing hormone neurons in the hypothalamus regulate

Nishijyo further revied his works on the neural control of food intake. He suggested that there are two forms of feeding behaviors. One is controlled by the hypothalamus and the lower brain stem, which control the internal environment of the body. The second feeding behavior is that in some environments, organisms can easily ingest

Such behaviors are controlled by the emotion/reward system such as the amygdala and nucleus accumbens. He asserted that in modern society there are abundant high calorie foods, thus the homeostasis independent control system easily surpasses the

Excessive intake of glucose or sucrose is blamed for the current obesity pandemic. An essential amino acid, tryptophan, plays an important role in the regulation of food intake, mood, emotions, and sleep because tryptophan is converted to serotonin and melatonin in the brain. Serotonin inhibits food intake, stabilizes moods, while melatonin is important in sleep. It was shown by Wurtman's group that insulin increases the transportation of tryptophan from the blood to the brain and facilitates the transportation of large neutral amino acids from the blood to

Takada's paper indicated that an intake of sucrose or glucose decreases plasma levels of essential amino acids. It is thought that such amino acids may be transported from the blood to muscles and tryptophan may be transported to the brain because insulin is secreted upon an increase in plasma levels of glucose. Therefore some glucose intake is needed for muscular integrity and various brain functions.

homeostasis-dependent control system, which results in obesity.

collectively known as metabolic syndromes.

the selection of a more palatable diet.

foods containing high energy.

muscles.

of lipids, ω, and trans fatty acids on cardiovascular diseases.
