Prebiotic Cools Colitis Inflammation

YOKOHAMA, JapanEnzyme-treated rice fiber (ERF) reduced inflammation in a murine colitis study published online recently in the Scandinavian Journal of Gastroenterology. Japanese researchers used three murine models of colitis, an inflammatory bowel disease (IBD), to test various inflammatory markers and resultant of bacterial changes and mucosal damage in mice given either ERFrice bran treated with amylase, protease and hemicellulase regular rice bran or a control treatment.

ERF exhibited a superior protective effect on colitis, compared to the rice bran or control treatments, decreasing inflammatory markers and cytokine production, and limiting mucosal damage. ERF also suppressed Clostiridium growth in the colon and reducing T cell differentiation in the spleen, while increasing short chain fatty acid content. The researchers concluded ERF reduces inflammation in colitis by modulating the colonic environment and regulating immune cell differentiation.