Council on Foods

THE NUTRITIONAL SIGNIFICANCE OF BRAN Wheat bran consists of the outer coats of the wheat grain which can be separated from the germ and various grades of flour during the milling process. The commercial product usually contains some of the wheat embryo and a small amount of endosperm because of the difficulty of making a sharp separation. The bran amounts to approximately 12 to 15 per cent of the grain. It has come into prominence since the development of modern methods of milling, which date back to about 1870. At first it was used almost exclusively for feeding farm animals, but subsequently it was introduced as an item of the human dietary. From the standpoint of human nutrition, it should be mentioned that there are two principal varieties of bran on the market. Untreated bran