Nutritional research, study types

Most readers will probably agree that there have been extensive advances in the fundamental areas of chemical and enzymatic modifications. The organizers do not expect similar agreements as to the success of the application of these methods in food, nutrition, and pharmacological areas. This lack of agreement would be particularly evident for the eventual adoption of some methods for human use. Perhaps it will be evident, however, that fundamental studies will show what types of materials are required for human use and that, after proper research into the health and safety aspects, eventually some of these methods will be applied for human use. 

It has been characteristic of nutrition studies to use one nutrient alteration experimental design to investigate one possible effect. However, in order to elucidate dietary relationships with pathological conditions, it may be necessary to use interaction-type studies. Therefore, the overall objective of the research conducted in our laboratories was to investigate the effect of dietary fat-manganese interactions on cholesterol synthesis. 

Rats and mice are popular as animal models in research on nutritional gerontology because of their practicable life span, economy of maintenance and housing, and acceptance of many types of natural ingredient and purified diets. Studies over the past 30 yr have revealed similarities and differences in the pattern of bone loss in rodents and man, as well as in the effect of diet on the process (Draper, 1985). The comparative study of dietary influences on aging osteopenia in rodents has stimulated much research on the possible existence of similar dietary effects in man. 

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