2007 Volume 54 Issue 12 Pages 546-552
To clarify the dietary function of crude rice glycosphingolipid (RG) extracted from rice bran with ethanol, mice were fed a diet containing 0.5% RG for 2 weeks, and the liver gene expression patterns were analyzed using DNA microarray. Dietary intake of RG did not affect expression of drug metabolism-related genes, showing that RG is unlikely to interact with drugs. Glycolysis-related gene expression was slightly increased, but tricarboxylic acid cycle-related gene expression was slightly decreased. As for lipid metabolismrelated genes, expression of carnitine acetyltransferase (Crat), which reversibly catalyzes production of acetylcarnitine from acetyl-CoA, was markedly increased. As for gene involved in energy metabolism, expression of P450 (Cyp) cytochrome 7a1, was increased. These findings suggested that RG, as a functional food material, promotes fatty acid and cholesterol metabolism by altering Crat and Cyp7a1 gene expression.
