Rice bran compound blocks intestinal contractions
Get the Health newsletter
Daily health & science — research, biotech, public health, the studies worth knowing. Free.
- Toho University researchers led by Dr. Keisuke Obara, Dr. Kento Yoshioka and Professor Yoshio Tanaka found that ferulic acid (FA) reduces intestinal smooth muscle contractions by inhibiting voltage-dependent calcium channels.
- In guinea pig ileal longitudinal smooth muscle tests, ferulic acid significantly reduced contractions triggered by acetylcholine, histamine, prostaglandin F2α, and serotonin, with stronger inhibition at higher concentrations and a reversible effect once FA was removed.
- The compound acted noncompetitively, indicating it does not block the receptors used by those signaling molecules but instead interferes with a shared downstream mechanism in muscle contraction.
- Experiments in vascular smooth muscle cell models confirmed FA reduced the intracellular calcium surge caused by potassium chloride, pinpointing voltage-dependent calcium channels as the target.
- The team cautioned the same muscle-calming effect could worsen constipation in patients with constipation-predominant IBS or in healthy individuals whose gut motility is already normal.
- Effective FA concentrations in the lab exceeded blood levels reached through normal diet, though local gut concentrations may be higher after food or supplement ingestion; human clinical trials remain necessary.
- The study appears in the Journal of Pharmacological Sciences, 2025, DOI 10.1016/j.jphs.2025.05.012, providing a foundation for future dietary or supplement-based interventions targeting gut motility.
Why it matters: For diarrhea-predominant IBS and IBD patients — roughly half of all IBS cases — a naturally occurring rice-bran compound could eventually offer a dietary route to calming an overactive gut. But the same calcium-channel mechanism that suppresses contractions could backfire for constipation-prone patients or healthy users, and human trials still need to confirm whether dietary intake produces meaningful gut-level concentrations.
Ask SkimNews
