Rice bran and its main components: potential role in the management of cardiovascular disease risk.

The prevention of cardiovascular disease events is related to a complex management of conventional and non-conventional risk factors. The first approach to reduce the cardiovascular disease risk is a correct dietary approach. Rice bran and its main components (Fibres, unsaturated fatty acids, triterpene alcohols, phytosterols, tocotrienols, alpha-tocopherol) have demonstrated their property to improve the plasma lipid pattern of rodents, rabbits, non-human primates and humans, reducing total plasma cholesterol and triglyceride concentration and increasing the high density lipoprotein cholesterol level. Other potential properties of rice bran components have been studied both in vitro and in animal models such as modulation of the pituitary secretion, inhibition of the gastric acid secretion, antioxidant action and inhibition of the platelet aggregation. The main aim of this paper is to review the available data on pharmacology and toxicology of rice bran and its main components with a particular attention to those data suggesting a potential efficacy in reducing the cardiovascular disease risk.