Abstract
On the assumption that the supplementation of certain nutrients or foods to the rice diet (low protein, low fat, and low vitamins) may decrease, to some extent, the degree of suffering from abnormal environments, such as vibration, noises, gases, dusts, smog etc. a series of experiments were started. As the first report the nutrition under vibration was studied in this experiment. Sixty (60) young growing male rats weighing about 65 grams were used, grouping to five (5) groups, twelve (12) rats each group. They were fed on the following five (5) experimental diets: rice diet (basal diet), rice diet+casein, rice diet+vitamins, rice $diet+{\alpha}-tocopherol$, and rice diet+ginseng powder (see the tables 1 and 2) for the period of 14 weeks experiment. During the experiment period the half number of the rats of each group were exposed to the three (3) hours vibration every day. The protective effect of each diet against the vibration may be summarized as follows. 1. The growth of rice diet group was impaired significantly under vibration, However, those of other groups (protein-supplemented, vitamin-supplemented, ${\alpha}-tocopherol-supplemented$ and ginseng-supplemented groups) were impaired much less compared with rice diet group. 2. The feed efficiency of the rice diet group was decreased significantly under vibration. It is estimated that the biological availability of nutrients was impaired under this environment. On the other hand, the feed efficiencies of protein supplemented, of vitamin supplemented, and of ginseng supplemented groups were not decreased under vibration, statistically. 3. There is tendency that the food spillages of vibration groups are higher than those of non-vibration groups. Especially it seems true in the case of rice diet group. The food spillage may be, to some extent, related with mental nervousness of animals. From the point that the food spillage of ginseng supplemented group is significantly lower than those of other groups it is thought ginseng acts some good role in protecting nervous system from suffering from vibration. 4. In all groups except protein supplemented group, liver fat of vibration group tends to be higher than that of non-vibration group. 5. It shows that, in general, the serum alkaline phosphatase activity of the vibration group is significantly higher than that of the non-vibration group. It seems that there may be, to some extent, corelation between the amount of liver fat and serum alkaline phosphatase activity. 6. There is tendency that, in rice diet group, the organs of vibration group are smaller than those of non-vibration group, especially lung is so. It is thought that this may be due to the poor growth of whole body size in vibration group.