A Randomized Controlled Trial of Dietary Rice Bran Intake on Microbiota Diversity, Enteric Dysfunction, and Fecal Secretory IgA in Malian and Nicaraguan Infants.

BACKGROUND: Malnutrition and diarrhea are leading causes of death in children aged <5 y. Rice bran is a nutrient-dense prebiotic available globally. OBJECTIVES: The objective of this secondary analysis was to evaluate the effects of daily rice bran supplementation on environmental enteric dysfunction (EED) markers, total fecal secretory IgA (sIgA), and microbiota in infants at high risk of malnutrition. METHODS: Six-month-old Malian and Nicaraguan infants were randomly assigned to control or daily rice bran supplementation cohorts (1 to 5 g/d). Feces were collected monthly for 6 mo to evaluate fecal sIgA, markers of EED, and microbiota diversity. Statistical methods included linear mixed models, generalized mixed models, Spearman correlation, and Wilcoxon rank-sum tests. RESULTS: Six-month-old Malian infants had significantly elevated sIgA (4.0× higher, P < 0.001), fecal myeloperoxidase (31.6× higher, P < 0.001), fecal α1-antitrypsin (1.8× higher, P = 0.006), and lower fecal neopterin (0.13× higher, P < 0.001) than the age-matched Nicaraguan infants. In the Nicaraguan rice bran cohort from 6 to 12 mo of age, there was a significant decrease in sIgA concentrations (0.4×, P < 0.05) and a correlation between sIgA and the EED marker α1-antitrypsin (0.523, P < 0.0001) at 12 mo of age. In Malian infants, daily rice bran ingestion resulted in decreased EED scores (0.71×, P = 0.02) and a stable sIgA concentration over time. The rice bran group of Malian infants also had correlation between sIgA and the EED marker neopterin (0.544, P < 0.001) at 12 mo of age and a significant (P < 0.05) increase in microbiota α-diversity at a younger age (9 mo with rice bran compared with 10 mo in control group), which supports earlier microbiota maturation. CONCLUSIONS: These results support rice bran as a functional food ingredient targeting gut mucosa in children at high-risk of malnutrition.

Non-Targeted Dried Blood Spot-Based Metabolomics Analysis Showed Rice Bran Supplementation Effects Multiple Metabolic Pathways during Infant Weaning and Growth in Mali.

Rice bran contains essential nutrients, antioxidants, and bioactives with anti-inflammatory and diarrheal protective properties important for infants. This 6-month randomized controlled trial investigated the effects of heat-stabilized rice bran supplementation during Malian infant weaning. Fifty healthy 6-month-old infants were randomized to a rice bran intervention (N = 25) or non-intervention control group (N = 25). Intervention infants received dose-escalating rice bran supplementation for 6 months (1-5 g/day). Monthly infant dried blood spot and anthropometric measurements were collected. Dried blood spot metabolite abundances were compared monthly according to diet for six months. Supplementation resulted in favorable weight-for-age and weight-for-length z-score changes. Non-targeted dried blood spot-based metabolomics identified 796 metabolites, of which 33% had significant fold differences between groups (7-12 months). Lipids and amino acids represented 70.6% of the metabolites identified. Rice bran supplementation during infant weaning significantly modulated the metabolites involved in antioxidant defenses and with neuroactive properties including reduced glutathione, glycine, glutamate, cysteinylglycine, tryptophan betaine, and choline. These findings support rice bran as a weaning ingredient to meet infant nutritional requirements and with the potential to reduce oxidative stress and improve cognitive outcomes. This study provides evidence for dried blood spots as a cost-effective tool to detect infant biomarkers of nutritional and metabolic status.

Monitoring of the Sensitivity In Vivo of Plasmodium falciparum to Artemether-Lumefantrine in Mali.

In Mali, since 2007, artemether-lumefantrine has been the first choice against uncomplicated malaria. Despite its effectiveness, a rapid selection of markers of resistance to partner drugs has been documented. This work evaluated the treatment according to the World Health Organization's standard 28-day treatment method. The primary endpoint was the clinical and parasitological response corrected by a polymerase chain reaction. It was more than 99.9 percent, the proportion of patients with anemia significantly decrease compared to baseline (p < 0.001), and no serious events were recorded. Plasmodium falciparum remains sensitive to artemether-lumefantrine in Mali.

Rice bran supplementation modulates growth, microbiota and metabolome in weaning infants: a clinical trial in Nicaragua and Mali.

Rice bran supplementation provides nutrients, prebiotics and phytochemicals that enhance gut immunity, reduce enteric pathogens and diarrhea, and warrants attention for improvement of environmental enteric dysfunction (EED) in children. EED is a subclinical condition associated with stunting due to impaired nutrient absorption. This study investigated the effects of rice bran supplementation on weight for age and length for age z-scores (WAZ, LAZ), EED stool biomarkers, as well as microbiota and metabolome signatures in weaning infants from 6 to 12 months old that reside in Nicaragua and Mali. Healthy infants were randomized to a control (no intervention) or a rice bran group that received daily supplementation with increasing doses at each month (1-5 g/day). Stool microbiota were characterized using 16S rDNA amplicon sequencing. Stool metabolomes were analyzed using ultra-high-performance liquid-chromatography tandem mass-spectrometry. Statistical comparisons were completed at 6, 8, and 12 months of age. Daily consumption of rice bran was safe and feasible to support changes in LAZ from 6-8 and 8-12 months of age in Nicaragua and Mali infants when compared to control. WAZ was significantly improved only for Mali infants at 8 and 12 months. Mali and Nicaraguan infants showed major differences in the overall gut microbiota and metabolome composition and structure at baseline, and thus each country cohort demonstrated distinct microbial and metabolite profile responses to rice bran supplementation when compared to control. Rice bran is a practical dietary intervention strategy that merits development in rice-growing regions that have a high prevalence of growth stunting due to malnutrition and diarrheal diseases. Rice is grown as a staple food, and the bran is used as animal feed or wasted in many low- and middle-income countries where EED and stunting is prevalent.

Use of Nisin and Microwave Treatment Reduces Clostridium sporogenes Outgrowth in Precooked Vacuum-Packaged Beef.

Nisin (NS), microwave (MW), and nisin plus microwave (NS + MW) treatments were applied to precooked beef semitendinosus muscles inoculated with spores of Clostridium sporogenes . Samples were then vacuum packaged and stored at 4°C or 10°C for 21 or 70 days. After 21 days of storage at 10°C, NS and NS + MW reduced viable vegetative cell (VVC) counts by approximately 3 log cycles compared to the control. After 70 days storage, VVC counts were higher (P < 0.05) at 10°C than 4°C only for the control. However, at 4°C, VVC counts for each treatment were not different (P > 0.05) from those of the control. After 70 days of storage at 10°C, VVC counts were lower (P < 0.05) for NS and NS + MW treatments than for the control.

Growth of Clostridium sporogenes PA 3679 in Home-Style Canned Quick Breads.

The safety of a home-style canned quick bread was investigated using spores of Clostridium sporogenes putrefactive anaerobe (PA) 3679. Baking was done at 177°C for 30, 40 and 50 min, at 191°C for 45, 50 and 55 min, and at 204°C for 40, 45 and 50 min. Products were analyzed for pH, water activity (aw) and vacuum level. The microbial quality of the products was determined before and after baking. Of the products baked at 177°C, some were stored for 90 days at room temperature (23 to 25°C) or in an incubator at 35°C to study their shelf-life. Inoculated and endogenous vegetative cells and their spores were counted before and after baking and after storage using Fung's Double Tube method. Results showed germination of endogenous spores in uninoculated products after baking at 177°C for 30 min and storage at 35°C for 90 days. Survival of inoculated C. sporogenes PA 3679 was detected for all baking and storage treatments. Further work is recommended to determine safe processing procedures for this type of product.