%D 2010 %0 MEDLINE %T Effect of pre-germination time of brown rice on serum cholesterol levels of hypercholesterolaemic rats . %J J Sci Food Agric %V 90 %P 245-51 %A Roohinejad S %A Omidizadeh A %A Mirhosseini H %A Saari N %A Mustafa S %A Yusof RM %A Hussin AS %A Hamid A %A Abd Manap %M pub20355038 %X BACKGROUND : Brown rice is unpolished rice with immeasurable benefits for human health . Brown rice ( BR ) and pre-germinated brown rice ( PGBR ) are known to contain various functional compounds such as gamma-oryzanol , dietary fibre and gamma-aminobutyric acid ( GABA ) . In the present study , the experimental diets containing BR and PGBR ( 24 , 48 h pre-germination ) were used to investigate the influence of pre-germination time of brown rice on blood cholesterol in Sprague-Dawley male rats . RESULTS : Hypercholesterolaemia and elevation of LDL-cholesterol were successfully ameliorated by the experimental diets containing BR and PGBR ( 24 and 48 h pre-germination ) . As compared to the control sample , the pre-germination time had a significant ( P < 0 . 05 ) effect on blood cholesterol of Sprague-Dawley male rats . It was also found that the significantly ( P < 0 . 05 ) better effect on lipid profile of hypercholesterolaemic rats was observed by prolonging the pre-germination time . As compared to non-germinated brown rice , the germinated brown rice showed the higher cardio-protective effect on hypercholesterolaemic Sprague-Dawley male rats . CONCLUSION : The present study suggests that the changes of blood cholesterol can be mainly modulated by using the PGBR rather than BR . The prolonging of pre-germination time led to an increase in the bioactive components , thereby providing a more efficient functional diet affecting the high blood cholesterol . This study suggests that PGBR can be used instead of BR and polished rice in the human diet .