Effect of Pregelatinized Brown Rice on Serum Cholesterol Levels in Obese Model Rats

Abstract

　The purpose of this study was to evaluate the effects of pregelatinized brown rice on cholesterol metabolism in obesity using Zucker fatty (ZF) rats. Six-week-old male ZF rats and their lean littermates were divided into four experimental groups; (1) Lean: Zucker lean rats fed the AIN93G; (2) Control: ZF rats fed the AIN93G; (3) WR: ZF rats fed the AIN93G in which cornstarch was replaced with pregelatinized white rice; (4) BR: ZF rats fed the AIN93G in which cornstarch was replaced with pregelatinized brown rice. The rats were fed each diet for 10 weeks. Significant decreases in serum and hepatic cholesterol levels were observed in the WR and BR groups compared with the control group. In particular, this cholesterol-lowering effect was more remarkable for the BR than WR group. Gene expression of HMG-CoA reductase was significantly increased in the WR and BR groups relative to the control group. In addition, CYP7A1m RNA levels showed a significant increase in the BR compared with the WR group. Our results indicate that pregelatinized brown rice has a serum cholesterol-lowering effect in obesity.