is currently directed primarily toward the determination of normal nutritional requirements as related to health, with research on

determination of nutritional status and intake and on nutrient

composition and bioavailability following in that order.

2. Evans-Allen. This is an annual formula-funded research program for 1890 Colleges and Tuskegee Institute established under P.L. 95-113. Food science and human nutrition projects comprise about 17% of the total, with emphasis having been primarily and appropriately on nutritional status and intake, especially of

adolescent females and the rural elderly.

3. Competitive Research Grants. These were initiated in 1978 to fund high priority basic research and provide an important mechanism for involving a broader group of excellent scientists in human nutrition research. The objective of the program is to complement the efforts of ARS and the States by opening participation to outstanding research scientists throughout the U.S. scientific community.

C. ES - Under the Smith-Lever Act, the ES is charged with the responsibility to disseminate practical, useful information and instructions in agriculture and home economics, including human nutrition, to persons not attending college. The Food and Agriculture Act of 1977 and 1981 further directed Extension to teach low income families "to the greatest extent possible, information on how to buy

D.

and prepare more nutritious and economical meals and on the

relationship between food and good health." Extension programs in every State, including Puerto Rico and the Trust Territories included home economics and human nutrition in their programs, allocating about 40% of their total effort to this purpose. Extension home economists provide the sole or best informed source of certain food and human

nutrition information in many counties.

Agency Coordination. The FNS has general responsibility for administration of the following programs: The Food Stamp Program; the Food Distribution Program; the Special Supplemental Food Program for Women, Infants and Children (WIC); the National School Lunch Program; the School Breakfast Program; the Summer Food Service Program for Children; the Child Care Food Program; and the Special Milk Program

for Children.

Their research and education needs are met through close coordination with ARS, CSRS, and ES. Methodologies for mutrition status assessment are of particular importance to the program development responsibilities of FNS. Research on assessment methodology and identification of factors, forces and trends resulting in malnutrition are pursued by CSRS through Hatch Funds where the emphasis includes development of reliable, efficient and inexpensive methods of defining mutritional status and development of improved methodologies to monitor and measure dietary intake. The nutrition education programs

of ES support the programs of FNS by informing low-income families how to a) buy food to stretch the value of their dollars,

b) store food to minimize waste and maximize nutrient value, and

c) plan meals to meet daily nutrient needs.

III. MAJOR ACCOMPLISHMENTS

Scientists at the Georgia Agricultural Experiment Station have discovered a defect in fatty acid metabolism in vitamin B-12 deficiency which may provide a basis for understanding the neural lesions associated with pernicious anemia and the susceptibility to respiratory infections which are characteristic of vitamin B-12 deficiency.

o An evaluation of conventional analytical methods to assess vitamin C status concluded at the HNRC in San Francisco, CA revealed that when erythorbic acid is present in the diet, plasma levels are substantially overestimated. Preliminary results indicate that a high performance liquid chromotography method presently under development will eliminate this problem. Erythorbic acid is commonly used as an antioxident by the food industry.

O

A cross sectional study of 70 college students conducted at the HNRC
in Grand Forks, ND has confirmed that iron nutrition is related to the
electrophysiological indices of central nervous system function and
cognition. The cognitive performance of the subjects was related both
to iron stores indexed by serum ferretin and EEG characteristics. The
findings suggests the possibility that improvement in iron nutriture
will change central nervous system function and performance in
demonstratively beneficial ways.

o The DNA sequence. corresponding to the iron storage protein ferritin
has been worked out by scientists at the HNRC at Tufts University in
Boston. A series of clones of the nucleic acid for making ferritin
protein were isolated in bacteria. From these clones the amino acid
sequence of ferritin has been established. This will allow the

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function of the nutrient, iron, in regulating storage to be

investigated.

It was previously reported from the University of Kansas that protein from processed soybeans dramatically inhibited the absorption of dietary iron in adult men. Soy protein is widely used in the U.S. in meals provided by the military in school lunches, baby formulas and many diet supplements. Consequently a long-term study involving 227 participants consuming either beef or soy-extended beef as their principal source of protein was carried out at the HNRC in Beltsville, MD. The study revealed that long-term consumption of ground beef with added soybean protein exerts little effect on the body's ability to absorb dietary iron.

O It's commonly believed that young infants lack the ability to digest and utilize cereal starches. Results from a recent infant feeding study conducted at the HNRC at Baylor College of Medicine have shown that cereal starches are well digested by the upper intestine and additionally that the colon plays a role in the efficient utilization of dietary carbohydrates. This is a significant contribution to the knowledge of the young infant's digestive processes and will lead to a possible revision of infant feeding recommendations.

O Researchers at the University of Califomia showed that iron chelates may be superior to inorganic salts in increasing tissue iron stores of infants, thus allowing the actual amount of supplement to be reduced, to minimize possible side effects.

O Researchers at Lincoln State University were able to demonstrate that the nutrient intake of Junior High School girls who consumed the type A school lunch was significantly improved, although 40% of those to whom it was available ate less than the full type A requirement.

o The Expanded Food and Nutrition Education Program (EFNEP), initiated

in 1968, has allowed Extension to use trained paraprofessionals to

reach 2.1 million low income families and 5.5 million youths with
intensified nutrition education.

V. OBJECTIVES

o Establish the nutritional needs for early development as well as the maintenance of bodily functions as people grow older.

O Establish the optimal mutritional needs of nursing mothers and

pregnant women.

O Increase the facilities and staff capacity for using normal human
volunteers of various age groups in controlled nutrition studies.

O Increase number and sensitivity of laboratory animal studies on the
bioavailability of key mineral and vitamin micronutrients.

o Understand dietary interaction that can affect the bioavailability of essential nutrients and find ways of overcoming them.

o Develop new and better methods for measuring food consumption and for measuring nutrition status.

O Determine the relationship between energy expenditure and cellular processes related to energy expenditure.

O Evaluate the potential role that soils and management practices can provide to enhance the nutritional quality of plants.

o Emphasize teaching the economic and nutrition bases in food buying and food consumption for families and youth in EFNEP.

O Use new technology and media to expand outreach of food and nutrition

education to consumers.

VI. EXPECTED RESULTS: The base program has the potential for improving the health and well-being of large segments of the U.S. population. There is still inadequate knowledge of nutrient needs of people at different ages,