Rice Bran Amino-Peptides (Oryza sativa Protein)

The seeds of the rice plant are the most widely consumed food that humans eat worldwide, and makes up roughly one fifth of the calories consumed by humans on a global scale. Rice in the edible form is first harvested from the plant then milled using a rice huller to remove the outer husks of the grain. At this point in the process the product is commonly known as brown rice. The milling may be continued, removing the rest of the husk and the germ (the bran), creating what is commonly known as white rice. White rice keeps longer but lacks some important nutrients, so from a nutritional standpoint brown rice is superior for a wide range of application. "Wild rice" is a name given to the seeds of an edible species of the grass in the genus Zizania, although sometimes the term is used for less well known varieties of rice in the common Oryza genus.

The bran of the rice seed contains important nutrients and moisturizing properties for topical use in the skin, particularly from its amino acid protein peptides. Rice bran protein is a biological inhibitor of collagenases, also known as Matrix Metalloproteinases (MMP), that are factors in skin aging. Collagenases are enzymes in the dermis that breakdown collagen during the normal cycle of repair of the collagen network. Problems begin to arise when the skin is no longer producing collagen at the same rate that collagenases are deconstructing it. When combined with free radical damage this can easily result in a diminished collagen network that loses elasticity, firmness, and eventually begins sagging and developing deeper wrinkles. The impressive collagen protecting properties of rice bran protein against collagenases have been demonstrated in studies on human MMP-1 and MMP-2, including once that use quantitative analysis of human skin samples.rs.

Rice bran protein also imparts a marked improvement in skin aging caused by UV exposure. During everyday life the skin is exposed to a great deal of stress, particularly ultraviolet (UV) radiation from the sun can, which can lead to severe alterations and damage of skin cells and the collagen/elastin matrix. This photodamage results in wrinkling, loss of thickness, and increased dermal fragility. The changes in the skin are normally slow but persistent and begin to take place already at suberythemal doses of UV-irradiation (i.e. you do not have to burn in the sun to still be damaged by it). The destruction is therefore hardly noticed in the beginning. But this UV-provoked induction of collagen degradation furthers the production of destructive collagenases that are released in excess by keratinocytes or fibroblasts (this is part of a natural defense reaction of the cells). The result is inflammation that can actually increase the action of collagenase in the skin, but because excessive collagenase itself also causes there is a destructive spiral that takes place. Since this process occurs frequently in the skin the activity of collagenase gets out of balance with the mechanisms that control it, which leads to a breakdown of connective tissue (e.g. collagen, elastin, etc.). The end result is visible signs of skin aging, such as the formation of wrinkles and decreasing elasticity. Rice bran protein peptides help block the damaging effect of these collagenases that are induced by sun radiation.