January 11, 2012
Chinese researchers have found
small pieces of rice ribonucleic acid (RNA) in the blood and organs of
humans who eat rice. The Nanjing University-based team showed that this
genetic material will bind to receptors in human liver cells and
influence the uptake of cholesterol from the blood.
The type of RNA in question is called microRNA (abbreviated to miRNA)
due to its small size. MiRNAs have been studied extensively since their
discovery ten years ago, and have been implicated as players in several
human diseases including cancer, Alzheimer's, and diabetes. They
usually function by turning down or shutting down certain genes. The
Chinese research provides the first in vivo example of ingested plant miRNA surviving digestion and influencing human cell function in this way. READ MORE
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