Rice Bran’s Possible Future in IBS Therapy

Will a simple natural compound in rice bran one day become a foundational therapy for Irritable Bowel Syndrome (IBS) patients who struggle with diarrhea? The answer will take time and science as we await studies beyond the one in focus. Researchers, for now, can just tell us that ferulic acid, a chemical found in rice bran, was able to slow the contractions of experimental guinea pig intestinal smooth muscle cells. This discovery might one day help adapt diets or therapies for those with diarrhea-predominant IBS.

With up to 6% of the US population suffering from IBS, lots of money is going into answers that would restore more enjoyable bowel function. Everyone just wants their guts to do their job without any fuss or symptoms, but IBS sufferers deal with either periods of constipation or of diarrhea (or a ping-pong combination of both) mixed with abdominal pain or discomfort. For these 6%, the GI tract insistently interrupts their lives, sometimes on a daily basis. Successful therapies are limited, and everybody involved wants more tools.

For those dealing with the diarrheal side of IBS, an effective and safe therapy for slowing intestinal contractions would ideally both lessen the diarrhea and turn down the volume of pain from excessive contractions. The researchers found that in the experimental model that ferulic acid, a polyphenol from rice bran, could work through multiple chemical-signaling pathways to slow down the contractions.

While human experimental tests are needed, this gives some home to dietary or supplement-based therapies rather than resorting to the assortment of expensive pharmaceuticals we have available now. Some of these medications provide some relief, but some have a variety of side effects beyond the sheer expense.

As we in functional medicine continue caring for IBS patients using a variety of dietary and supplement approaches (with success), we look forward to even more options to restore health in our patients who come out of mainstream medical system looking for better answers. We do what we can to use the best of natural and conventional therapies to lead them to healthier, more abundant lives in which their guts don’t shout at them so much.

 

Other Blogs on IBS:

Irritable Bowel Syndrome and Food Allergies: https://sanctuaryfunctionalmedicine.com/topics/functional-medicine/irritable-bowel-syndrome-and-food-allergies/

Let’s Get Moving: The Secret to Gut Motility

https://sanctuaryfunctionalmedicine.com/topics/nutrition/lets-get-moving-the-secrets-to-good-gut-motility/

Conditions Page: Beyond Digestion

GI

 

Original Article:

Makino, Naho Takazakura, Miwa Enomoto, Yoshio Tanaka. Ferulic acid suppresses guinea pig ileal longitudinal smooth muscle contractions by inhibiting voltage-dependent Ca2 channels. Journal of Pharmacological Sciences, 2025; 158 (4): 289 DOI: 10.1016/j.jphs.2025.05.012

 

Thanks to Science Daily:

Toho University. “Rice bran compound may help ease irritable bowel symptoms.” ScienceDaily. ScienceDaily, 30 July 2026. <www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2026/07/260729010742.htm>.

 

 

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Sanctuary Functional Medicine, under the direction of Dr Eric Potter, IFMCP MD, provides functional medicine services to Nashville, Middle Tennessee and beyond. We frequently treat patients from Kentucky, Alabama, Mississippi, Georgia, Ohio, Indiana, and more... offering the hope of healthier more abundant lives to those with chronic illness.