supplementary rice bran may lower blood pressure

Filed in archive Investigational on March 4, 2006

Japanese researchers who recently discovered a new way of extracting rice bran found that including a fraction of it in dietary supplements could lower blood pressure.

Bran, a rice waste material that usually comes off upon dehulling and polishing the rice grains, is naturally rich in vitamins, minerals and antioxidants.

The new study conducted in groups of stroke-prone spontaneously hypertensive rats is published in the Journal of Agricultural and Food Chemistry (Vol. 54, pp. 1914-1920).

Eight weeks of rice-bran supplemented diet in these rats resulted to a 20% lowering of blood pressure, significantly reduced blood levels of angiotensin-1 converting enzyme (ACE) (an enzyme that converts angiotensin-1 to angiotensin-2, which is involved in narrowing of the blood vessels or vasoconstriction) and lower levels of the oxidative stress marker 8-hydroxy-2'-deoxyguanosine (8-OHdG).

Still, various research works need to be done to nail down the health benefits of rice bran supplements but I guess it wouldn't hurt for rice eaters (like me) to resort to (unpolished) brown rice instead.

Read more at NutraIngredients and EurekAlert.