Hypocholesterolemic Effect of Analogue Rice with the Addition of Rice Bran

The objective of this study was to evaluate the hypocholesterolemic effect of analogue rice added with rice bran from three different rice varieties (white, red and black). The Sprague Dawley rats were fed ad libitum with six different chow formulas, i.e. standard diet equal to AIN-93G (C-), high-cholesterol diet (C+), high cholesterol diet plus analogue rice containing 15% coconut dregs flour (AR1), high cholesterol diet plus 10% rice bran from Ciherang white rice (AR2), Cere red rice (AR3), and Campoireng black rice (AR4). The diet intervention was conducted for 28 days. The total cholesterol (TC), high density lipoprotein cholesterol (HDL-C), low density lipoprotein cholesterol (LDL-C) and triglyceride (TG) of rat plasma as well as total fat of rat liver were analyzed. The results showed that rats fed with AR1, AR2, AR3 and AR4 exhibited significant decreases of TC, LDL-C, AI and liver fat, but increased of HDL-C in comparison to those of a high-cholesterol group (C+). This hypocholesterolemic effect is associated with the significant role of dietary fiber and/or gamma-oryzanol. Among groups with diet containing rice bran, AR2 demonstrated the highest hypocholesterolemic effect followed by AR4 and AR3. The AR1 group also gave a significant hypochlolesterolemic effect (p<0.05) due to the role of the dietary fiber. As a conclusion, this study indicates that analogue rice added with rice bran and/or coconut dregs flour is a potential functional diet that is beneficial to lower the CHD risk.