2017 Volume 70 Issue 2 Pages 61-67
The effects of cooked rice flours on cecal fermentation in rats were examined. The rice flours used were Yukihikari and Honoka 224, which have the genealogy of the rice cultivar Hokkaido, and Kirara 397 and Shimahikari, which have the genealogy of the cultivar Koshihikari. Rats were fed either a control diet or one of the experimental diets each containing one of the four rice flours as a starch source. The animals were fed the diet at 300 g/kg for 28 days. In comparison with the control group, the rats fed Honoka 224 were found to have a significantly lower cecal pH, their cecal concentrations of acetate and total short-chain fatty acids (SCFA) tended to be higher (acetate: p＝0.067, total-SCFA: p＝0.050) , and their immunogloblin A (IgA) and ammonia nitrogen concentrations were significantly higher. In the rats fed Yukihikari, the cecal acetate and total SCFA concentrations were significantly higher. In the rats fed Shimahikari, the cecal mucin concentration tended to be higher and the cecal IgA concentration was significantly higher. Collectively, these findings suggest that consumption of cooked rice improves cecal fermentation, and that this effect is influenced by the genealogy of the rice.
