Petroleum ether extract of Njavara rice (Oryza sativa) bran upregulates the JAK2-STAT3-mediated anti-inflammatory profile in macrophages and aortic endothelial cells promoting regression of atherosclerosis.

"Njavara" (Oryza sativa L.) is a unique rice variety grown in Kerala that is reported to have significantly higher antioxidant, anti-inflammatory, chemical indices, and bioactive components compared with staple rice varieties. However, the role of NBE in reversing the atherosclerosis development remains unclear.

Dietary Njavara rice bran oil reduces experimentally induced hypercholesterolaemia by regulating genes involved in lipid metabolism.

The present study was carried out to evaluate the anti-atherogenic effect of Njavara rice bran oil (NjRBO) on atherosclerosis by modulating enzymes and genes involved in lipid metabolism in rats fed a high-cholesterol diet (HCD). Adult male rats (Sprague-Dawley strain, weighing 100-120 g) were divided into three groups of nine animals each. Group I served as the control, group II were fed a HCD and group III were fed a HCD and NjRBO (100 mg/kg body weight).

Tricin 4'-O-(erythro-β-guaiacylglyceryl) ether and tricin 4'-O-(threo-β-guaiacylglyceryl) ether isolated from Njavara (Oryza sativa L. var. Njavara), induce apoptosis in multiple tumor cells by mitochondrial pathway.

Njavara is an important medicinal rice variety of Kerala, India widely used in Ayurveda for the treatment of rheumatoid arthritis, paralysis, neurodegenerative diseases and in rejuvenation therapy. The study evaluated, for the first time, antitumor effects of the two rare flavonolignans, tricin 4'-O-(erythro-β-guaiacylglyceryl) ether (compound 1) and tricin 4'-O-(threo-β-guaiacylglyceryl) ether (compound 2), isolated from 'Njavara' black. Both the compounds induced apoptosis in three cancer cell lines colon adenocarcinoma cell line HCT 116, ovarian cancer cell line SKOV3 and breast cancer cell line MCF-7.

Molecular mechanisms of anti-inflammatory action of the flavonoid, tricin from Njavara rice (Oryza sativa L.) in human peripheral blood mononuclear cells: possible role in the inflammatory signaling.

Flavonoids are a group of natural substances that are located in sources of vegetal origin and are able to regulate acute and chronic inflammatory responses. The anti-oxidant and anti-inflammatory effects corroborate with the preferential use of Njavara, a rice variety in indigenous medicine and the phytochemical investigations revealed the occurrence of a flavonoid, tricin at significantly higher levels compared to staple varieties. This study describes the new aspects of inflammatory suppression by the Njavara rice by evaluating the role of active constituent, tricin in the regulation of production of various pro-inflammatory markers by human peripheral blood mononuclear cells stimulated with lipopolysaccharide.

DPPH radical scavenging activity of tricin and its conjugates isolated from "Njavara" rice bran: a density functional theory study.

Structural, electronic, and energetic characteristics of tricin, tricin-4'-O-(erythro-β-guaiacylglyceryl)ether (TEGE), and tricin-4'-O-(threo-β-guaiacylglyceryl)ether (TTGE), isolated from "Njavara" rice bran have been studied using DFT to explain their experimentally determined radical scavenging activity (EC(50) values) in comparison with known standards such as quercetin, myricetin, and catechin. Among the three mechanisms proposed for explaining the antioxidant activity, proton coupled-electron transfer (PC-ET), sequential proton loss electron transfer (SPLET), and electron transfer-proton transfer (ET-PT), our results support the second one. The O-H bond dissociation enthalpy (BDE) and the spin density on the oxygen with the radical character are excellent descriptors of radical scavenging activity.

Isolation, characterization and quantification of tricin and flavonolignans in the medicinal rice Njavara (Oryza sativa L.), as compared to staple varieties.

Njavara is an important medicinal rice variety of Kerala, India, widely used in Ayurveda as a 'health food' and in the treatment of rheumatoid arthritis, paralysis, neurodegenerative diseases and in rejuvenation therapy. Phytochemical investigations and spectroscopic studies of the diethyl ether fraction of methanolic extract of Njavara Black (NB) rice bran gave three important compounds namely, tricin and two rare flavonolignans- tricin 4'-O-(erythro-β-guaiacylglyceryl) ether and tricin 4'-O-(threo-β-guaiacylglyceryl) ether. The EC(50) values of these compounds in DPPH system were 90.