How Does Dietary Rice Bran Affect Glycemic Response in Horses?

The objective of this study was twofold: to measure the starch content of rice bran, whole oats, and corn, and to determine the glycemic response to a meal of rice bran in Thoroughbred horses.

Direct analysis revealed rice bran to be 14% starch and therefore substantially lower than whole oats (50%) and corn (61%). Feeding rice bran caused little change in blood glucose concentrations. Compared to a meal of whole oats, the glycemic index for a meal of rice bran was 47%, a level similar to that for a meal of alfalfa hay.

This study affirms that rice bran causes only slight changes in blood glucose concentrations following ingestion. Therefore, rice bran is a suitable feedstuff for horses that require a low-starch diet, such as horses with polysaccharide storage myopathy.

This report of KER’s 2001 research was published in Proceedings of the 17th Equine Nutrition and Physiology Society Symposium.

Read the entire research paper, titled Glycemic Response to Stabilized Rice Bran in Thoroughbred Horses.