Bionoia Where life meets thought ⌕
Back to Journal
Journal › Microbiome ecology
Discovery

Effects of processed low-protein brown rice on patients with chronic kidney disease

Hypothesis
Read original paper
Editor's note
Dietary fibre shapes the CKD microbiome in ways that may slow kidney decline—a mechanistic bridge between dysbiosis and clinical outcomes that moves beyond observational association. This small, single-arm intervention sits at the evidence frontier: suggestive of a causal pathway through short-chain fatty acid production, but requiring larger controlled trials to establish clinical significance. Nephrologists and microbiome researchers investigating dysbiosis-driven CKD progression should weight this alongside emerging FMT and prebiotic literature.

Source: europepmc · Origin: JP · Adachi K, Yasuda M, Ida M, Oshima Y, Azegami T, Yoshifuji A, Osada R, Oki I, Irie J, Kanda T, Takemura R, Hayashi K, Wak · Clinical and experimental nephrology · 2026-05-26

URL: https://pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/42189410/

AI rationale (4/5, tier: emerging): Longitudinal CKD cohort with microbiota composition and dysbiosis-disease mechanistic link; dietary intervention study with clinical outcomes.

Alterations in gut microbiota are prevalent in patients with chronic kidney disease (CKD) and are associated with pathogenic phenotypes, including the progression of kidney damage and defecation conditions. We developed a fermented low-protein brown rice (LPBR), a whole grain unpolished rice, and examined its effects on renal function, defecation condition, and gut microbiota composition in CKD patients. In this 3-month, single-arm study, 30 outpatients with stage 3 - 4 CKD were recruited and received a dietary intervention with LPBR. Changes in the defecation condition were evaluated using the Constipation Scoring System (CSS) and the Bristol Stool Form Scale. Alterations in urinary protein excretion and estimated glomerular filtration rate (eGFR) as well as stool condition were assessed as primary outcomes. Among the 29 participants with CKD, intervention with LPBR led to a significant improvement in CSS scores (P = 0.023), a reduction in urinary protein excretion (P = 0.050), and a decrease in eGFR levels (P = 0.044). Fecal acetic acid increased (P = 0.024) and the abundance of Bifidobacterium longum in the gut microbiota increased (P = 0.094). Changes in Bifidobacterium longum were positively associated with alterations in fecal acetic acid levels and CCS scores. Additionally, changes in fecal acetic acid were positively associated with changes in eGFR and Bristol stool scores. The trend toward increased Bifidobacterium longum abundance and elevated acetic acid production with LPBR intake may contribute to the attenuation of CKD complications. Our findings suggest that LPBR intervention may offer beneficial effects for CKD patients.

Related articles in this corpus

Parallel
Multi-omics Analysis Reveals the Protection of a Quadruple Probiotic Mixture in Experimental Autoimmune Hepatitis
Both articles investigate how modifying gut microbiota through dietary/probiotic interventions improves outcomes in chronic disease (CKD and autoimmune hepatitis), sharing a common mechanistic hypothesis but applied to different disease contexts.
Parallel
Gut Microbiota Dysbiosis Remodels the Multi-Tissue Transcriptional Landscape of the Host
Both articles investigate gut microbiota's role in systemic health with focus on kidney function, but Article A examines a therapeutic intervention in CKD patients while Article B studies microbiota depletion effects on multi-tissue transcription in mice.
Parallel
Schistosoma mansoni infection is associated with changes in gut microbiota in preschool age children in Albertine Region, Uganda
Both articles examine gut microbiota alterations in different disease contexts (parasitic infection vs. chronic kidney disease) but operate independently without direct causal or mechanistic overlap.
Parallel
Gut Microbiota Regulates Systemic Inflammatory Response and Compensatory Anti-Inflammatory Response Syndromes by Targeting PF4<sup>+</sup> Macrophages in Acute Pancreatitis
Both articles examine gut microbiota dysbiosis and its role in disease pathogenesis, but address distinct diseases (acute pancreatitis vs. chronic kidney disease) through different mechanisms without direct causal or conceptual connection.
Parallel
Microbiota remodeling after bariatric surgery: Procedure-specific dynamics and metabolic implications
Both articles examine gut microbiota remodeling as a mechanism for improving metabolic and physiological outcomes in different patient populations (CKD vs. obesity), but address distinct diseases with no direct causal or methodological overlap.
Published 2026-05-28 · Last kit-update 2026-05-28