Kamolwan Jangchud

Influence of Biopolymer Emulsifier Type on Formation and Stability of Rice Bran Oil‐in‐Water Emulsions: Whey Protein, Gum Arabic, and Modified Starch

Rice bran oil (RBO) is used in foods, cosmetics, and pharmaceuticals due to its desirable health, flavor, and functional attributes. We investigated the effects of biopolymer emulsifier type and environmental stresses on the stability of RBO emulsions. Oil-in-water emulsions (5% RBO, 10 mM citrate buffer) stabilized by whey protein isolate (WPI), gum arabic (GA), or modified starch (MS) were prepared using high-pressure homogenization. The new MS used had a higher number of octenyl succinic anhydride (OSA) groups per starch molecule than conventional MS. The droplet diameters produced by WPI and MS were considerably smaller (d < 300 nm) than those produced by GA (d > 1000 nm). The influence of pH (3 to 8), ionic strength (0 to 500 mM NaCl), and thermal treatment (30 to 90 °C) on the physical stability of the emulsions was examined. Extensive droplet aggregation occurred in WPI-stabilized emulsions around their isoelectric point (4 < pH < 6), at high salt (> 200 mM, pH 7), and at high temperatures (>70 °C, pH 7, 150 mM NaCl), which was attributed to changes in electrostatic and hydrophobic interactions between droplets. There was little effect of pH, ionic strength, and temperature on emulsions stabilized by GA or MS, which was attributed to strong steric stabilization. In summary: WPI produced small droplets at low concentrations, but they had poor stability to environmental stress; GA produced large droplets and needed high concentrations, but they had good stability to stress; new MS produced small droplets at low concentrations, with good stability to stress. Practical Application: This study showed that stable rice bran oil-in-water emulsions can be formed using biopolymer emulsifiers. These emulsions could be used to incorporate RBO into a wide range of food products. We compared the relative performance of whey protein, GA, and a new MS at forming and stabilizing the emulsions. The new OSA MS was capable of forming small stable droplets at relatively low concentrations.

Germination Conditions Affect Physicochemical Properties of Germinated Brown Rice Flour

Germinated brown rice has been reported to be nutritious due to increased free gamma-aminobutyric acid (GABA). The physicochemical properties of brown rice (BR) and glutinous brown rice (GNBR) after germination as affected by different steeping times (24, 36, 48, and 72 h depending on the rice variety) and pHs of steeping water (3, 5, 7, and as-is) were determined and compared to those of the nongerminated one (control). As the steeping time increased or pH of steeping water decreased, germinated brown rice flours (GBRF) from both BR and GNBR had greater reducing sugar, free GABA and alpha-amylase activity; while the total starch and viscosity were lower than their respective controls. GBRFs from both BR and GNBR prepared after 24-h steeping time at pH 3 contained a high content of free GABA at 32.70 and 30.69 mg/100 g flour, respectively. The peak viscosity of GBRF obtained from both BR and GNBR (7.42 to 228.22 and 4.42 to 58.67 RVU, respectively) was significantly lower than that of their controls (255.46 and 190.17 RVU, respectively). The principal component analysis indicated that the important variables for discriminating among GBRFs, explained by the first 2 components at 89.82% of total explained variance, were the pasting profiles, alpha-amylase activity, and free GABA.

Germination conditions affect selected quality of composite wheat-germinated brown rice flour and bread formulations.

Brown rice has been reported to be more nutritious after germination. Germinated brown rice flours (GBRFs) from different steeping conditions (in distilled water [DI, pH 6.8] or in a buffer solution [pH 3] for either 24 or 48 h at 35 degrees C) were evaluated in this study. GBRF obtained from brown rice steeped at pH 3 for 48 h contained the highest amount of free gamma aminobutyric acid (GABA; 67 mg/100 g flour). The composite flour (wheat-GBRF) at a ratio of 70 : 30 exhibited significantly lower peak viscosity (PV) (56.99 - 132.45 RVU) with higher alpha-amylase activity (SN = 696 - 1826) compared with those of wheat flour (control) (PV = 136.46 RVU and SN = 1976). Bread formulations, containing 30% GBRF, had lower loaf volume and greater hardness (P < 0.05) than the wheat bread. However, the hardness of bread containing 30% GBRF (except at pH 6.8 and 24 h) was significantly lower than that of bread containing 30% nongerminated brown rice flour (BRF). Acceptability scores for aroma, taste, and flavor of breads prepared with or without GBRFs (30% substitution) were not significantly different, with the mean score ranging from 6.1 (like slightly) to 7 (like moderately). Among the bread formulations containing GBRF, the one with GBRF prepared after 24 h steeping at pH 3 had a slightly higher (though not significant) overall liking score (6.8). This study demonstrated that it is feasible to substitute wheat flour with up to 30% GBRF in bread formulation without negatively affecting sensory acceptance. Practical Application: Our previous study revealed that flours from germinated brown rice have better nutritional properties, particularly gamma-aminobutyric acid (GABA), than the nongerminated one. This study demonstrated feasibility of incorporating up to 30% germinated brown rice flour in a wheat bread formulation without negatively affecting sensory acceptance. In the current United States market, this type of bread may be sold as frozen bread which would have a longer shelf life. Further study is thus needed.

Physicochemical properties and consumer acceptance of wheat-germinated brown rice bread during storage time.

Selected physicochemical properties and consumer acceptance of bread prepared from composite flour (wheat:germinated brown rice:germinated glutinous brown rice flours at 60:30:10 ratio) were evaluated during storage for 0, 3, and 5 d, and compared with wheat bread (0 d, control). During storage, color profiles and water activity (from 0.947 to 0.932) of crumbs of composite flour breads slightly changed, but moisture content drastically decreased along with increasing crumb hardness (from 4.16 N to 10.37 N). Higher retrogradation in bread crumb was observed particularly for 5-d stored bread (DeltaH = 2.24 J/g) compared to that of the fresh composite bread and the control (DeltaH = 0.70 and 0.51 J/g, respectively). Mean (n = 116) overall liking score of the fresh composite flour bread (0 d) was slightly lower than that of the control (7.1 compared with 7.6 based on a 9-point hedonic scale). At least 76% of consumers would purchase the fresh composite flour bread if commercially available. Breads were differentiated by textural (moistness, smoothness, and softness) acceptability with canonical correlation of 0.84 to 0.87. The signal-to-noise ratio values of the 5-d stored breads were lower than the control, due mainly to the non-JAR (not-enough) intensity responses for moistness, smoothness, and softness; the mean drop of liking scores for these attributes ranged from 2.42 to 2.98. Flavor acceptability and overall liking were factors influencing consumers purchase intent of composite flour breads based on logistic regression analysis. This study demonstrated feasibility of incorporating up to 40% germinated brown rice flour in a wheat bread formulation. Practical Application: Our previous study revealed that flours from germinated brown rice have better nutritional properties, particularly gamma-aminobutyric acid (GABA), than the nongerminated one. This study demonstrated feasibility of incorporating up to 40% germinated brown rice flour in a wheat bread formulation. In the current U.S. market, this type of bread may be sold as frozen bread that would have a longer shelf life, or may be supplied as a food-service product that would be made-to-order or made fresh daily as currently practiced in some major grocery stores.