Rice Starch–Purple Red Rice Bran Anthocyanins Complex Improves Glucose–Lipid Homeostasis and Restores Gut Microbiota in High‐Fat Diet/Streptozotocin‐Induced Type 2 Diabetic Mice

Purple red rice bran, a nutrient-rich byproduct of rice processing, contains abundant anthocyanins that distinguish it from ordinary bran and may offer metabolic benefits, while previous in vitro work has revealed that anthocyanins can form V-shaped inclusion complexes with rice starch (S-A), thereby enhancing resistant starch content and stimulating the growth of beneficial gut bacteria. However, the in vivo effects remain unclear. Therefore, using a high-fat diet/streptozotocin-induced T2DM mouse model to assess the metabolic impact of S-A, the results showed that dietary supplementation with S-A regulated glucose-lipid homeostasis, significantly reducing serum total cholesterol (5.98 ± 1.02→3.21 ± 1.07 mmol/L) and low-density lipoprotein cholesterol (3.25 ± 0.67→1.15 ± 0.74 mmol/L), with histopathological analysis revealing alleviated hepatic steatosis, renal fibrosis, and adipocyte hypertrophy; moreover, S-A reshaped the gut microbiota by enriching beneficial taxa, suppressing pathogens, and elevating short-chain fatty acids, while predictive functional analysis indicated restoration of microbial pathways involved in energy and amino acid metabolism. Overall, S-A exerts multifaceted regulation of lipid-glucose metabolism and gut microbiota, mitigating metabolic dysfunction in diabetic mice, and these findings underscore its potential as a novel functional dietary intervention while promoting the value-added utilization of purple red rice bran in managing metabolic disorders.