Allergy, asthma inflammation can be cured by black rice: Study

Black rice has proved to be extremely beneficial for people suffering from inflammation that result from allergy and asthma. Black rice is the staple food for one third of the population. The study appears in ACS' bi-weekly Journal of Agricultural and Food Chemistry. It is also known that black rice is the cancer fighting superfood.

The Journal of Agriculture and Food Chemistry has published an article on October 20 which details upon the findings of how black rice can cure inflammation for allergy and asthma. Experiments in cell culture reveal that black rice bran curbs the release of histamine, which is responsible for inflammation.

Bran is the outer husk of the grain, which, is removed completely during the processing of brown rice to produce the known and popular white rice. Mendel Friedman and colleagues injected the extract into the mice; it reduced skin inflammation by about 32 percent compared to control animals and also decreased production of certain substances known to promote inflammation.

When the mice were fed with ten percent black rice bran diet, it reduces swelling associated with allergic contact dermatitis. This is common type of skin irritation and can occur to anyone anytime. However, brown rice bran did not have such effects. The article also notes that the experiment “further demonstrate the potential value of black rice bran as an anti-inflammatory and anti-allergic food ingredient and possibly also as a therapeutic agent for the treatment and prevention of diseases associated with chronic inflammation.”

Black rice is high in nutritional value and is also rich in iron. It is also high in fiber content and has a nutty taste. Black rice is also known as “forbidden rice” in China since originally it was considered the emperor’s rice and common men were not supposed to consume it. According to a study presented at the 240th National Meeting of the American Chemical Society (ACS), "one spoonful of black rice bran contains more anthocyanin antioxidants than a spoonful of blueberries and better yet, black rice offers more fiber and vitamin E antioxidants, but less sugar.”

Via : infocera