Obesity is characterized by excessive accumulation of fat in the body, which causes changes in body composition and endothelial dysfunction due to impaired production of nitric oxide (NO). The common means of managing obesity is through functional food, such as brown rice, which has high fiber and antioxidant content. Therefore, the purpose of this study was to determine the effect of adding brown rice to feed on carcass composition and NOx levels in obese rats. This was an experimental study involving male Sprague Dawley rats placed in 5 groups, in which 4 were allowed to turn to obese rats with the remaining one group as control. These 4 groups were allowed to later feed on high-fat high-fructose (HFHF) diet while the control fed on the normal AIN-93 diet, followed by 8 weeks of HFHF intervention and brown rice in feed with 3 different doses; 12.43%; 24.86%; and 37.29%. The serum NOx levels were analyzed by the Griess Reaction method, while the percentage of protein and fat was analyzed through Gravimetric Extraction. The results showed that the addition of brown rice resulted in changes in the Lee index (p = 0.000) and abdominal circumference (p = 0.000). Also, a correlation was observed between the Lee index and abdominal circumference (p = 0.001; r = 0.558) of rats. However, there was no significant difference between NOx and carcass protein levels, and there was an increase in carcass fat levels due to an increase in mitochondrial energy efficiency and resistance to protein synthesis in obese rats.
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