STUDIES OF RICE-BRAN THERAPY FOR CALCIUM UROLITHIASIS WITH IDIOPATHIC HYPERCALCIURIA
I. Clinical Studies of Rice-bran Therapy
1984 Volume 75 Issue 1 Pages 1-9
Details
1984 Volume 75 Issue 1 Pages 1-9
The clinical effects of the treatment with rice-bran in calcium stone formers with idiopathic hypercalciuria were studied, and the mechanism of the effects was investigated.
The results were as follows:
1) Thirty-one patients with idiopathic hypercalciuria were treated with 10g defactted rice-bran per day. 22 of them (70.9%) developed a significant reduction in urinary calcium excretion (mean reduction rate: 21.2%) after 4 weeks.
Seventeen of 19 patients (89.5%) reduced their urinary calcium excretion (mean-reduction rate: 29.8%) after treatment with 20g of defatted rice-bran per day.
Although, reductions in urinary calcium excretion were observed in both groups of 10 g and 20g administration, non-responsive patients were more frequent in the group of 10g administration.
2) There were no change in urinary phosphate, serum calcium and phosphate during treatment.
3) Of thirteen patients treated with rice-bran pharm. (20g/day), culture products of defatted rice-bran, 10 developed a reduction in urinary calcium excretion (mean reduction rate: 22.7%). On the other hand, 8 patients, on administration of wheat-bran pharm., could not reduce their urinary calcium significantly.
4) In 6 patients, urinary calcium excretion rose after rice-bran treatment had been stopped for 4 weeks. It was considered that urinary calcium reduction was due to the effect of rice-bran itself.
5) In 7 patients, urinary calcium increased after defatted rice-bran had been replaced with dephytinized one for 4 weeks. The results suggested that the major effect of rice-bran for urinary calcium might be due to phytin.
6) In 4 patients, 47Ca absorption tests were performed at pretreatment and during treatment with defatted rice-bran. Reduction of intestinal calcium absorption (5-10%) was observed in all of them. The effects of rice-bran on calcium excretion is probably due to the combination of phytin with calcium in the intestine to form insoluble and non-absorbable calcium phytate.
7) No patients had any severe side-effects of rice-bran therapy. Rice-bran seems to be a kind of natural food without unwanted side-effect and effective in reducing urinary calcium excretion with idiopathic hypercalciuria. Therefore, rice-bran therapy should be considered an ideal therapeutic agent for calcium stone formers with idiopathic hypercalciuria.
