• Won Hee Choi, Min Young Um, Jiyun Ahn, Chang Hwa Jung, and Tae Youl Ha.
• Metabolism and Nutrition Research Group, Korea Food Research Institute, Seongnam, Republic of Korea; Division of Food Biotechnology, University of Science and Technology, Daejeon, Republic of Korea.
• Nutrition. 2014 Jul 1;30(7-8):920-7.

ObjectiveThe aim of this study was to evaluate the effects of rice as a carbohydrate source and its molecular mechanisms on insulin resistance induced by a high-fat diet (HFD).MethodsC57 BL/6 J mice were divided into three groups and were fed a low-fat diet (LFD); a HFD (with 18% fat, 0.5% cholesterol, 51.5% w/w cornstarch and sucrose); or a HFD with rice (HFD-CR, with 18% fat, 0.5% cholesterol and 51.5% w/w rice powder) for 12 wk. In the HFD-CR diet, cooked rice powder was substituted for cornstarch and sucrose in the HFD as a carbohydrate source.ResultsHFD-CR-fed mice had significantly lower body weight, blood glucose, insulin and leptin levels and ameliorated glucose responses with decreased homeostasis model assessment-insulin resistance compared with HFD-fed mice. Hepatic mRNA levels of phosphoenolpyruvate carboxykinase and glucose-6-phosphatase were down-regulated in the HFD-CR group. The hypertrophied islet size and the decreased pancreatic mRNA expression of glucose transporter 2 in the HFD group were normalized with cooked rice consumption. Rice promoted glucose uptake by activating AMP-activated protein kinase and downstream glucose transporter 4 in the skeletal muscle.ConclusionRice consumption as a carbohydrate source might potentiate improvements in glucose uptake via AMP-activated protein kinase activation and glucose transporter 4 expression in the skeletal muscles, thereby improving insulin sensitivity.Copyright © 2014 Elsevier Inc. All rights reserved.

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