Germinated brown rice may benefit diabetes patients through catabolism of branched-chain amino acids

Participants with T2DM were randomized to 100 g/d GBR (GBR group, n = 42) or equal staple food (Control group, n = 25) for three months. The researchers collected serum samples and food frequency questionnaires (FFQ) before and after the intervention.

The authors reported the following findings:

• In the GBR group, fasting insulin (FINS), fasting blood glucose (FBG), and serum BCAAs were decreased, and islet function was improved.
• Logistic regression analysis showed that FBG (Odds ratios (OR): 1.55) and energy (OR: 1.21) were positively associated with serum total BCAAs level, while FINS was negatively associated (OR: 0.20).
• There was a significant increase in the key enzymes of BCAAs decomposition, which promoted glycolysis by activating pyruvate dehydrogenase (PDH).

The authors conclude, "germinated brown rice could improve biochemical indicators of type 2 diabetes patients, and the underlying mechanism may be through improvement in insulin resistance and accelerating catabolism of BCAAs."

Reference:

Wan W, Jiang X, Zhao R, Cai F, Wu F, Hu Y, Zhou X, Liu Z, Shan Y. Branched Chain Amino Acids, New Target of Germinated Brown Rice against Type 2 Diabetes Mellitus: A Randomized Controlled Trial. Mol Nutr Food Res. 2022 Dec 23:e2200481. doi: 10.1002/mnfr.202200481. Epub ahead of print. PMID: 36564930.