Gamma-oryzanol (γ-oryzonol) is a compound found in foods including brown rice. Gamma-oryzanol is actually a mixture of compounds including ferulic acid esters and phytosterols, and consumption of gamma-oryzanol may have beneficial effects that result from antioxidant, antiulcerogenic, antineoplastic, antidiabetic, and antiallergic properties. Evidence suggests that gamma-oryzanol may also have some mood elevating effects. For example, in one study researchers administered gamma-oryzanol to mice that had been treated with alcohol. The alcohol caused a number of changes that included downregulation of 5-hydroxytryptophan and 5-hydroxyindole acetic acid in the hippocampus and reduced homovanillic acid levels in the cerebral cortex. These detrimental effects were reversed by the administration of gamma-oryzanol. In addition, the gamma-oryzanol also attenuated the anxious behaviour of the alcohol treated mice, suggesting that it may possess mood elevating properties.
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