Roberta Layton, age 11, of Gulfport, Miss., for her question:

WHERE DO WE GET BRAN?

Bran is the coarse outside covering of the seeds or kernels of cereal grains. The most common commercial brand is wheat bran, a by product of flower milling.

Wheat bran is composted of 16 percent protein, 11 percent natural fiber and 50 percent carbohydrate substances, which provide energy.

Bran is used in some breakfast foods, bread and muffins and as a roughage, or laxative, food. However, the amount of bran used for  human consumption is small.

The largest users of wheat bran are producers of animal feeds. They use bran in formula feeds for livestock.

Some people use the bran, or partly ground husks of wheat, in the tanning of hides.