Eating black rice may help stave off inflammatory diseases, according to results published in the Journal of Agricultural and Food Chemistry.

Previous studies have shown that black rice bran contained anti-inflammatory compounds, which helps prevent allergies, asthma and other related illnesses. However, when brown and white rice is processed, the bran, which is located on the outside of the grain, is removed.

During the most recent trial, a team of researchers from the American Chemical Society injected mice with black rice bran extract, and then compared them to a control group. The results showed that the black rice bran group experienced a 32 percent decrease in skin inflammation.

The investigators then fed the extract group a diet that contained 10 percent of black rice bran. As a result, eating the rice-enriched diet improved skin swelling caused by dermatitis, a common type of skin irritation.

However, mice that received a brown rice injection did not experience anti-inflammatory benefits.

The authors stated that these results “further demonstrate the potential value of black rice bran as an anti-inflammatory and anti-allergic food ingredient and possibly also as a theraputic agent for the treatment and prevention of diseases associated with chronic inflammation.”

In addition to black rice, eating foods enriched with resveratrol, an antioxidant, can prevent inflammation, according to a study conducted that the University of Buffalo.