Get to know bran, a layer of rice that has many health benefits

As an Indonesian, you must be familiar with rice and rice which are the forerunners of our staple food, aka rice. However, not many people know that rice has a protective layer called bran. This is even more so because quite a lot of people think that bran is the same as bran, which is usually used as animal feed. Actually, what is rice bran and are there any good benefits for health?

Bran and bran are not the same

Most people probably think that bran and bran are two similar things. They both come from the outer layer of rice. When rice is milled or pounded to produce rice, the grain or bran will release the three layers of wrapping.

The first layer is the husk which is characteristic of the hardest and sharpest skin. The second is bran or usually referred to as the waste of the first rice grinding. The last, deepest layer is rice bran, or other designation rice bran .

Bran is a layer that protects rice, precisely in the endosperm. At first glance, the bran and bran do have a light brown color that is almost the same. This is what makes it difficult for many people to distinguish between the two.

Yet if you look closely, the most striking difference between the two layers of rice is in the texture. When touched, the texture of the bran skin is smoother than that of the bran skin.

Nutritional content in rice bran (rice bran)

Source: Indiamart

Bran is more often used as animal feed, especially for poultry, goats and cows. Not so with bran. Some animal breeders do use rice bran as food for livestock, but rice bran is actually very permissible and can be eaten by humans.

Rice bran is one of the natural ingredients that has the potential to be further developed as human food, according to a study from the Bogor Agricultural Institute (IPB) published by the Food Journal.

The nutritional content in this rice wrapping layer is a strong consideration for this. The reason is, per 100 grams (gr) portion of bran that is fit to eat (BDD / edible grade) actually contributes about 500 grams of carbohydrates, 16.5 grams of protein, 21.3 grams of fat, and 25.3 grams of fiber.

Not only that, a number of vitamins and minerals also complement the nutritional content in rice bran . Starting from 3 mg vitamin B1, 0.4 mg vitamin B2, 43 mg vitamin B3, 7 mg vitamin B5, 0.49 mg vitamin B6, 11 mg iron, 6.4 mg zinc, 80 mg calcium, 2.1 grams phosphorus, 1.9 grams of potassium, 20.3 grams of sodium, to 0.9 grams of magnesium.

Bran has a distinctive sweet taste that is more delicious. The sweetness of the rice wrapping layer is what makes the selling price much more expensive than bran.

Various benefits of rice bran for health

1. High in antioxidants

Coronary heart disease, cancer, and stroke are several types of diseases, one of which is caused by free radical attacks. In order to fight the bad effects, we need antioxidants that are not only obtained from the body but also from daily food.

Bran is rich in antioxidant compounds, so it has the potential to ward off free radicals. There are 8 antioxidant compounds contained in this rice wrapping layer, namely flavonoids, phenolic acids, anthocyanins, proanthocyanins, tocopherols, tocotrienols, y-oryzanol , and phytic acid.

Uniquely, it turns out that the color pigment component in rice also affects the amount of antioxidants in it rice bran . Yes, the type of rice with red and black pigments is believed to contain higher levels of antioxidants than white rice (non-pigmented).

2. Lowering high cholesterol

In addition to its antioxidant advantages, rice bran reported to help reduce high cholesterol levels in the blood. This is all thanks to the antioxidant compounds g amma oryzanol or y-oryzanol contained in the bran.

In experimental animals that are obese and dysplidemic, body fat levels that are too high can be lowered by returning the amount of triglycerides, "bad" cholesterol or LDL (low density lipoprotein), and total cholesterol to normal levels.

Meanwhile, the content gamma oryzanol in bran will also help increase levels of "good" cholesterol or HDL (high density lipoprotein). More than that, the research in the Food Journal mentioned above also states that supplementation is provided rice bran in the daily diet is believed to be able to lose weight while maintaining levels of total cholesterol, triglycerides, and bad LDL cholesterol. Even so, the rice bran still increased HDL levels without changing the blood sugar levels of the experimental animals.

However, bran in rice that does not contain pigments, aka white rice, is considered more effective at balancing cholesterol levels than pigmented rice.

3. Prevent cancer

There are various types of cancer that can attack humans, such as blood cancer, liver cancer, ovarian cancer, uterine cancer, breast cancer, skin cancer, and so on. After investigating, it turns out that this rice wrapping layer can help reduce the risk of various types of cancer.

This conclusion was obtained due to the high bioactive components and dietary fiber contained in this protective layer of rice. Take for example, the peptide and tocotrienol compounds present in bran are thought to have a major role in preventing the development of liver cancer.

In experimental animals with stage 2 skin cancer, supplementation of the cycloartenol ferulate compound extracted from the rice covering is also believed to be able to inhibit the inflammatory or inflammatory response associated with the development of the disease.