BioBran Study Published in Annual Meeting of Japanese Society of Nutrition and Food Science

BioBran Study Published in Annual Meeting of Japanese Society of Nutrition and Food Science

A research group headed by Prof. Egashira, Bioresources Chemistry, Graduate School of Horticulture, Chiba University, published the result of their study on BioBran (manufactured by Daiwa Pharmaceutical Co., Ltd., Tokyo; President: Yashuo Ninomiya) titled “Study on hemicelluloses, a component of enzyme-modified rice bran, for the inhibitory effects on the development of D-galactosamine-induced hepatopathy” at the 62nd annual meeting of the Japanese Society of Nutrition and Food Science held at the Sakado Campus of Kagawa Education Institute of Nutrition from May 2 to 4, 2008.

Having already found that BioBran, a product obtained by the process of treating rice bran rich in hemicellulose mainly comprised of arabinoxylan with an enzyme from shiitake mycelia culture filtrate, had an inhibitory effect on the development of D-galactosamine (GalN)-induced hepatopathy in rats, Prof. Egashira and her colleagues then conducted an experiment using the acid hydrolysates of BioBran to investigate the GalN-induced hepatopathy inhibiting component of BioBran.

The researchers intraperitoneally administered GalN at a dose of 800mg/kg to 4-week-old Wistar male rats to develop hepatopathy and 24 hours later measured the activities of serum GOT and GPT, to evaluate the degree of hepatopathy. Water solution of BioBran was orally given to the rats 1 hour before the GalN administration.

Comparative evaluation of the effects of various BioBran hydrolysates obtained from specific hydrolysis by hydrochloric acid under different conditions revealed that BioBran hydrolyzed in 1N hydrochloric acid solution at 100°C for 1 hour had a sufficient hepatopathy inhibiting activity. The researchers also conducted molecular weight fractionation of unabsorbed substances in ion exchange chromatography of BioBran hydrolysates to evaluate the hepatopathy inhibiting activity of each fraction. As a result, the inhibitory activity was detected in relatively low molecular weight fractions.

These findings suggest that the GalN-induced hepatopathy inhibiting activity lies in the neutral, relatively low molecular weight component of BioBran.

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