Chujing Fu, Jingni Cheng, Zhichang Qiu, Kai Ye, Xiaoxuan Wang, Yu Zhou, Yang Chen, Jie Tu, Hang Xiao
Rice bran dietary fiber comprises soluble and insoluble fractions, but their differential host, microbial, and metabolic effects remain unclear. We compared RB-SDF, RB-IDF, and their mixture (RB-MIX) at two doses in DSS-induced colitis. All formulations alleviated symptoms, histological injury, barrier dysfunction, endotoxemia, and inflammation, but their relative advantages varied by end point and dose. RB-SDF showed histological protection and the greatest high-dose SCFA output, whereas RB-IDF produced distinct benefits for barrier-related and metabolic end points. RB-MIX remained effective but did not consistently match or exceed the strongest responses of the individual fractions. Microbiota profiling and untargeted metabolomics revealed formulation-dependent remodeling rather than uniform restoration. Disease-axis and factorial analyses further revealed partial shifts toward the CONTROL-associated metabolic profile and substantial contributions of fiber formulation and the formulation-by-dose interaction. These findings support the rational selection and formulation of rice bran fiber ingredients for functional foods.