Rice protein

Studies in people

• Benefit

  Long-term use in infants²

  Rice protein formulas seem to help babies with milk allergy grow, but long-term effects are not yet known.

• Open question

  Infant growth and tolerance³

  Infants with cow's milk allergy grew normally on rice protein formula, with tolerance building at a similar pace.

• Concern

  Infant gut reaction⁴

  In infants, rice protein caused vomiting and diarrhea, and doctors needed more than one hospital visit to spot it.

• Open question

  Infant growth and nutrition⁶

  Babies fed rice protein formula grew normally, though their blood amino acid levels differed slightly from babies fed milk formula.

• Open question

  Infant milk allergy tolerance⁷

  Infants with cow's milk allergy tolerated a rice protein formula and gained weight well.

Allergies and intolerances

These are about people with an allergy, an intolerance or coeliac disease. The signal is about the ingredient itself, and these are about the person eating it, so the signal does not count them.

• Grain allergy cross-reactions⁹

  Rice protein 16KD may be one reason people allergic to rice also react to millet and other grains.

How it’s made and used

• How much the body absorbs⁵

  In people, eating xanthohumol with rice protein led to more of it getting into the blood.

• Meatball texture and taste⁸

  Replacing some pork with rice protein made meatballs softer and less stable, though a small amount kept tasters happy.

• Extrusion and amino acid balance¹⁰

  In lab studies, rice protein kept a more balanced amino acid profile after extrusion than pea protein did.

• Starch digestion¹¹

  In lab studies, adding rice protein to extruded rice starch slowed how quickly the starch was broken down.

The signal at the top counts the findings in people and in animal and lab studies. A concern in studies of people outranks animal and lab studies, and “No concerns” needs at least one finding in people. When most findings in people point one way, the page leans that way (“Mostly”), and every finding is still shown. Findings whose study type is not stated are shown but not counted. This page is a reference, not medical advice. It describes what regulators and published research say. Talk to a doctor or dietitian about your own diet.