Bran in Nigerian Local Rice Confers a High Degree of Protection against Indomethacin-Induced Peptic Ulceration in Albino Rats

A factor in the aetiology of peptic ulcer might be the absence of protective substances; either as a result of the refining of the staple carbohydrate food or of a low intake of supplementary foods containing such factors. It has been proven that unmilled or freshly-milled rice and fresh rice bran or rice bran oil confer a degree of protection against peptic ulceration. The study was carried out to investigate the possible protective effects of two different varieties of Nigerian rice, and rice bran supplementation on indomethacin-induced peptic ulcer by indicating mean ulcer counts in male adult albino rats. Mean ulcer score for Tapa rice (2.88 ± 0.91), Ofada rice (6.79 ± 0.45), and polished rice/rice bran mixes of 95:5 (5.17 ± 1.53), 90:10 (1.42 ± 0.53), 75:25 (7.63 ± 2.44) and 50:50 (5.04 ± 1.13) showed a highly significant decrease (P 0.0001) when compared with the control (16.46 ± 2.05). The polished rice only-treated group showed a high increase in mean ulcer score. The results show a tendency for the commonly-consumed polished rice to increase formation of ulcers. The bran, which is usually removed during the milling process, however confers protection against ulceration.