| Budget Amount *help |
¥3,500,000 (Direct Cost: ¥3,500,000)
Fiscal Year 2006: ¥1,000,000 (Direct Cost: ¥1,000,000)
Fiscal Year 2005: ¥2,500,000 (Direct Cost: ¥2,500,000)
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| Research Abstract |
Although there have been many studies on health benefits of soy protein as one of the plant protein source, proteins extracted from rice, which is a staple cereal and widely used in the world, have been paid less attention. For food manufacturing, rice protein was prepared by alkaline extraction method (AE-RP) and by starch degradation method (SD-RP). The in vitro digestion study and electron microscope observation indicated the improvement in digestibility of AE-RP. In addition, AE-RP was superior to SD-RP in bioavailability, and prolamin was only detected in the feces of SD-RP group in rats. Therefore, this study was performed using AE-RP.
To identify the still unknown functional properties of rice protein, the effects of dietary rice protein on hepatic antioxidative activities and immune function were compared by feeding casein and soybean protein to mail Wistar strain rats 7 and 20 weeks old ad libitum for 2 weeks. Protein contents, superoxide dismutase (SOD), glutachione peroxidase (GSH-Px), and catalase activities in the rat livers were determined. As a result, it was suggested that rice protein has some effects on GSH-Px activities in adult rat livers, which is difficult to be explained by their amino acid composition. On the other hand, the serum immunoglobulin (Ig)G level of rats fed with rice protein diet (CP 14%) was significantly lower, compared to those in the cases of casein and soybean protein diets. When Ovalbumin (OVA) was administered as antigen, OVA specific IgG concentration in the serum of rats fed with rice protein diets tended to increase. Furthermore, it was proved that dietary rice protein enhances IgA synthesis in the spleen and small intestine contents of rats.
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