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Whole grain foods have been promoted to be included as one of the important components of a healthy diet because of the relationship between the regular consumption of whole-grain foods and reduced risk of chronic diseases. Rice is a staple food, which has been widely consumed for centuries by many Asian countries. Studies have suggested that brown rice is associated with a wide spectrum of nutrigenomic implications such as anti-diabetic, anti-cholesterol, cardioprotective and antioxidant. This is because of the presence of various phytochemicals that are mainly located in bran layers of brown rice. Therefore, this paper is a review of publications that focuses on the bioactive compounds and nutrigenomic implications of brown rice. Although current evidence supports the fact that the consumption of brown rice is beneficial for health, these studies are heterogeneous in terms of their brown rice samples used and population groups, which cause the evaluation to be difficult. Future clinical studies should focus on the screening of individual bioactive compounds in brown rice with reference to their nutrigenomic implications.

Periodontitis (PD) is a chronic infectious disease mediated by bacteria in the oral cavity. (Poly)phenols (PPs), ubiquitous in plant foods, possess antimicrobial activities and may be useful in the prevention and management of periodontitis. The objective of this study was to test the antibacterial effects of selected PPs on periodontal pathogens, on both planktonic and biofilm modes of growth. Selected PPs (n = 48) were screened against Streptococcus mitis (S. mitis), Aggregatibacter actinomycetemcomitans (A. actinomycetemcomitans), Fusobacterium nucleatum (F. nucleatum) and Porphyromonas gingivalis (P. gingivalis). The antibacterial potential of each compound was evaluated in terms of planktonic minimum inhibitory concentration (PMIC) and planktonic minimum bactericidal concentration (PMBC) using standardized broth microdilution assays. The most active PPs were further tested for their effect on mono-species and multi-species biofilms using a colorimetric resazurin-based viability assay and scanning electron microscopy. Of the 48 PPs tested, 43 showed effective inhibition of planktonic growth of one or more test strains, of which curcumin was the most potent (PMIC range = 7.8-62.5 μg mL(-1)), followed by pyrogallol (PMIC range = 2.4-2500 μg mL(-1)), pyrocatechol (MIC range = 4.9-312.5 μg mL(-1)) and quercetin (PMIC range = 31.2-500 μg mL(-1)). At this concentration, adhesion of curcumin and quercetin to the substrate also inhibited adhesion of S. mitis, and biofilm formation and maturation. While both curcumin and quercetin were able to alter architecture of mature multi-species biofilms, only curcumin-treated biofilms displayed a significantly reduced metabolic activity. Overall, PPs possess antibacterial activities against periodontopathic bacteria in both planktonic and biofilm modes of growth. Further cellular and in vivo studies are necessary to confirm their beneficial activities and potential use in the prevention and or treatment of periodontal diseases.

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