Prof. Teruo Miyazawa received the Order of the Sacred Treasure, Gold Rays with Neck Ribbon in the 2023 spring.
Prof. Miyazawa developed a Chemiluminescence-HPLC method and apparatus for sensitive determination of lipid peroxide, which is involved in food deterioration and cellular damage in living organisms, and also proved the presence of phosphatidylcholine hydroperoxide, a phospholipid peroxide, in human plasma.
He have also succeeded in synthesizing stable and highly pure samples of lipid peroxide, which is necessary for accurate quantification, and developed a mass spectrometry method for the analysis of lipid peroxide isomeric molecular species.
Based on the analytical techniques he developed, he has elucidated membrane lipid peroxidation and its molecular mechanisms in the prevention of food oxidative degradation, human aging, lipid metabolism abnormalities, atherosclerosis, hyperglycemia, cancer, and dementia, and has clarified the protective functions provided by foods.
While developing quantitative methods for various food components and their metabolites and clarifying the health functions of foods, he also discovered a new vitamin E synthase in rice, discovered glycated lipids in hyperglycemic blood, discovered a new blood biomarker microRNA for Alzheimer’s disease, and proved the health benefits of Japanese food through comprehensive gene analysis, He developed functional research for health promotion and disease prevention with foods, and contributed to the development of many new foods including Foods for Specified Health Uses (FOSHUs).
He is a project leader of the “Advanced Food Biotechnology Research Project” at NICHe.
Link
Tohoku University (Japanese) (click here)