Nutrition Rice bran the healthy and nutritious superfood of the future?

Forget about goji berries, rice bran is the new superfood!
For a long time, specialists and physicians have been searching for so-called superfoods to improve people's nutrition and health. Researchers have now found out that rice bran (the outer covering of rice grain) has a very high nutritional value and is also rich in proteins, fats, minerals and micronutrients.

The Colorado State University researchers found that rice bran contains a lot of proteins, fats and minerals and also has high nutritional value. Zude many so-called micronutrients (such as vitamin B) are present in the rice bran. The physicians published the results of their study in the journal "RICE".

People around the world often eat rice. The food is cheap and can be grown in many countries of the world. Physicians have now found in an investigation that rice bran contains a lot of healthy vitamins and amino acids. The experts believe that rice bran is a kind of superfood. (Image: sattriani - fotolia)

Rice bran is normally used as animal feed
The American experts suggest that rice bran could lead to benefits for human health and a healthier diet. Rice bran is removed from whole grain rice during processing and is normally used as animal feed.

A serving of rice bran contains more than half of the daily needed vitamins
A single serving of rice bran (28 grams) provides more than half of the daily needs for essential vitamins, says author Professor Elizabeth Ryan. These vitamins include, for example, thiamine, niacin and vitamin B6. Traditionally, rice bran is considered a cheap source of fiber, and only the lipids it contains have been previously considered useful. These can be used for example in the form of cooking oil. Rice bran has rarely been used for human nutrition. The main application of rice bran predominantly in use as animal feed, say the scientists. However, the high nutritional value contained could now lead to greater attention.

Physicians discover 16 new health-promoting attributes
The researchers used a sophisticated biochemical technique (mass spectrometry) in their study to measure the amount of many different molecules in the diet being studied. The researchers found a total of 453 metabolites in the evaluation of three US rice varieties previously used in human nutritional intervention trials. Among them were 65 metabolites, which had potentially medicinal and health promoting attributes. 16 of the health-promoting metabolites were previously unknown, the experts explain.

Rice bran contains many cofactors, vitamins and amino acids
We studied the amino acids, vitamins, cofactors, and secondary metabolites in rice bran, which are believed to contribute to the medicinal and nutritional benefits of rice bran, explains Professor Ryan. "We were very surprised that cofactors, vitamins and amino acids make up almost 50 percent of the total molecule content," adds the physician.

The high protein content of rice bran can compensate for nutritional deficiencies
For some of the compounds in rice bran, anti-inflammatory, antimicrobial and antihypertensive properties have already been demonstrated in earlier studies. Rice bran also contains a protein content of 12 to 15 percent. The high protein content can compensate for nutritional deficiencies, say the doctors.

Rice bran could supply more than 400 healthy individual compounds
Rice is an essential staple food for more than half of the world's population and is grown in over 100 countries. Rice bran as a food ingredient could provide more than 400 individual compounds, which together lead to health benefits, explains author Professor Ryan.

Further research is needed
Although limited information was available on how well individual compounds can be used by the human body after ingestion, further research should examine the use of rice bran in nutritional therapies and medical food applications, the expert adds. (As)