The available data in humans suggest that rice bran oil (RBO) is an edible oil of preference for improving plasma lipid and lipoprotein profiles similar to more commonly used vegetable oils. The observation that blending RBO with safflower oil at a specific proportion magnifies the hypocholesterolemic efficacy is of particular interest with regard to utilization of this oil. The occurrence of peculiar components such as gamma-oryzanol and tocotrienols in RBO might be responsible for its hypocholesterolemic effect.