Dietary supplementation of germinated pigmented rice (Oryza sativa L.) lowers dyslipidemia risk
in ovariectomized Sprague-Dawley rats
Sammanfattning
Background: In the recent years, cases of elderly women suffering from metabolic diseases
such as dyslipidemias brought about by hormonal imbalance after menopause are continuously
increasing. In this regard, a continuous and escalating demand to develop a more functional and
highly nutritional food product as an adjunct supplement that can help alleviate these diseases is
still being sought.
Objective: This study investigated the effects of germinated blackish-purple rice cultivars
Keunnunjami, Superjami, and reddish-brown cultivar Superhongmi in the lipid metabolism of
ovariectomized Sprague-Dawley rats.
Method: The animals were randomly divided into nine groups (n=5) and were supplemented with
either non-germinated or germinated rice for 9 weeks. Then the plasma, liver, and fat samples were
collected for the lipid metabolism effects analyses.
Results: Animals fed with germinated rice cultivars had improved lipid profile levels relative to the
groups supplemented with non-germinated rice cultivars. The germinated rice groups, Keununjami
and Superjami in particular, showed a low total cholesterol levels, high levels of high-density
lipoproteins-cholesterol, high fecal lipid output, low hepatic lipid values, and low hepatic adipocyte
accumulation. There was also an increase in the rate of lipolysis and decrease in lipogenesis based
on the lipid-regulating enzyme activity profiles obtained for the groups that fed on germinated rice.
Also, results revealed that pigmented rice cultivars had superior effects in improving the lipid
metabolism relative to the non-pigmented normal brown rice variety.
Conclusion: Based on the results, this study suggests that germinated pigmented rice consumption
can confer better lipid metabolism than ordinary white rice and constitutes as an effective functional
food in alleviating the risk of having dyslipidemias like those suffering from menopausal co-
morbidities.