Effect of different pre-treatments on cooking characteristics of

colored rice

Introduction:

A staple food and one of the most popular cereal crops in the world, rice (Oryza sativa L.) can be
cooked, popped, puffed, or beaten. It is essential for delivering necessary nutrition. India, which
is home to a wide variety of rice genotypes, produces coloured rice variations, such as black,
purple, and red pericarp rice, which have therapeutic qualities, even though rice varieties with
whitish kernels are abundant Siva et al., (2010). According to reports, certain red and purple-
pigmented rice cultivars have much higher levels of total phenol, flavonoids, and anthocyanins
than non-pigmented rice. This leads to an improved ferric reducing antioxidant property (FRAP)
Mahanta et al., (2012). As a result, coloured rice has drawn a lot of attention lately for dietary
inclusion due to its nutritious importance. The antioxidant qualities of coloured rice are superior
to those of non-hued rice variants. Recent research has shown that pigmented rice contains a
variety of biological properties, such as antioxidant, anti-carcinogenic, anti-allergic, and iron
deficient anaemia-relieving effects. Coloured rice contains antioxidants that can lower the
development of atherosclerotic plaque and metabolic disorders linked to excessive fructose
Tananuwong and Tewaruth, (2013).

While black and purple rice varieties are especially strong in protein and crude fiber, red rice is
high in iron and zinc. The same anthocyanin antioxidants that are seen in blueberries and
blackberries are also present in black rice bran because of its dark hue. Numerous studies
indicate that while non-colored rice has less phenolic content and antioxidant activity than
coloured rice variants, black rice has a higher scavenging activity than red rice. Because red rice
contains more proanthocyanidin than black rice, it has a stronger antioxidant activity while
having a lower anthocyanin level Finocchiaro et al., (2007).

India has been using red, purple, and black rice since ancient times Ahuja et al., (2007).
Nutraceuticals, minerals, and resistant starch are all abundant in them Oki et al., (2004). India
has several types of colored rice, such as Red Kavuni, Kuruvaikar, Poonkar, Onamatta, Mapillai
Samba, Chak Hao Poreiton, Thavala Kanna Matta, Mattai, Kiarali, Black Kavuni, and
Kuzhiyadichan. These types have recently been assessed for their nutraceutical qualities,
including their anti-diabetic and antioxidant activities Deng et al., (2013). Consumer preference
is greatly influenced by the color and scent of rice Meullene et al., (1999). Rice can be classified
as black, red, brown, or white depending on the endosperm's color Finocchiaro et al., (2013).
Different anthocyanins give rice its color; red variants are distinctive because of their high
concentration of minerals, whilst black kinds are heavy in protein, minerals, and crude fiber.

Amylose and amylopectin's glycosidic linkages are hydrolysed by the most common starch-
converting enzymes, α-amylase and glucose amylase. Despite being widely employed in the rice
starch company, little is known about how they affect entire grains. According to Van der et al.,
(2002), glucoamylase hydrolyses α-1,4 and α-1,6 glycosidic bonds in amylose or amylopectin,
yielding only glucose, whereas alpha-amylase only cleaves α-1,4 glycosidic bonds found in the
inner portions of the amylose or amylopectin chain, resulting in oligosaccharides.

Enzymatic pretreatment, more especially enzymolysis of its surface structure with exogenous
enzymes, can enhance the cooking quality of brown rice. First, researchers used single enzymes
like cellulase and pectinase to study brown rice alteration. Subsequent research, however,
revealed that using two or more enzymes greatly enhanced the cooking quality. By hydrolysing
the cellulose cortex of brown rice with xylanase and cellulase, Das et al., (2008) were able to
shorten the cooking time and greatly increase the rice's capacity to absorb water and expand its
volume. Further research is necessary because the proportion and component properties of the
brown rice epidermis are intimately linked to the use of exogenous enzymes and their ratio.
Enzyme treatments in conjunction with other pretreatment methods have been investigated
recently to improve the quality of brown rice, including ultrasound-assisted cellulase treatment
Zhang et al., (2015) and slight milling combined with cellulase treatment Geng et al., (2020).

Reactive oxygen and nitrogen-based species, including O, O₂, O₃, OH, NO, and NO₂, are
abundant in air plasma (Laroussi, 2009). According to Schütze et al. (1998), the density of
charged species in low-pressure plasma discharges varies between 10⁸ and 10¹³ cm³. An effective
plasma system that best maintains rice quality attributes following plasma therapy has been
researched by Chen et al. (2016), Sarangapani et al., (2015). After gases, liquids, and solids,
plasma is the fourth and highest energy state of matter. It is characterized as a neutral ionized gas
Moreau et al., (2008). According to Randeniya and Groot (2015), cold plasma has been
effectively used recently to treat plant seeds, changing their wetting characteristics to encourage
quicker germination and higher yield. Seeds treated with cold plasma also last longer in storage.

Research has demonstrated that cold plasma treatment can alter the surface of rice grains,
improve cooking qualities, and shorten cooking times Chen et al., (2016); Dhayal, & Park,
(2006). The main ingredient of rice, starch, greatly influences the texture of the grain. Textural
alterations and increased hardness in parboiled rice are caused by lipid–amylose inclusion
complexes, gelatinization, thermal breakdown, and recrystallization (retrogradation) of starch
Mahanta & Bhattacharya, (1989), Ramesh et al., (1999). However, it is known that cold
plasma treatment improves brown rice's toughness and other qualities (Chen et al., 2016).

As an emerging non-thermal food processing technology, ultrasonication is steadily gaining

attention. When rice is sonicated, cracks form inside the grains, improving hydration and
allowing moisture to penetrate, which shortens the cooking time and hardness [Bonto et al.,
(2020), Li et al., (2019)]. Thus, immersion aided by ultrasonic waves could potentially help get
around the drawbacks of conventional soaking techniques. These fissures might also act as
pathways for nutrients to go from the husk, bran, and germ to the endosperm, enhancing rice's
ability to retain nutrients. Aside from its physical effects, immersion with ultrasonic assistance
changes the activity of endogenous enzymes, encouraging the production of GABA, Ca2+, and
phenylalanine [Ding et al., (2018), Xia et al., (2017)].

According to Garavand et al. (2019), ultrasound-assisted extraction (UAE) uses high

frequencies (>20 kHz) to create cavitation effects by compressing and expanding a medium
using ultrasonic waves. Anthocyanins, free and bound polyphenols, GABA, minerals, and
dietary fiber are among the vital nutrients and bioactive components found in the bran layer of
black rice, a pigmented varietal. These elements provide a number of physiological advantages,
such as blood lipid balance, blood glucose control, and anti-inflammatory actions [Aalim et al.,
(2021), Qiu et al., (2021), Liu et al., (2020)]. Nevertheless, the health advantages of cooked
black rice are diminished because some of these bioactive components are lost through water
solubility, heat degradation, or transformation Melini et al., (2019). Additionally, consumers find
cooked black rice less appetizing due to its solid texture and abrasive mouthfeel, especially in
areas where rice is a staple diet Teng et al., (2017), Zhang (2021).

Therefore, the purpose of this study is to improve the cooking and eating quality of black and red
rice by using three pretreatment technologies such as alpha-amylase enzyme treatment,
ultrasonic treatment and cold plasma treatment. These pretreatments were selected based on their
enzymatic, structural modification, and physical effects, respectively. The pretreatment
conditions were optimized, and their effects on the physicochemical properties, cooking
characteristics, and eating quality of black and red rice were analysed. Additionally, in vitro
digestibility studies were conducted to evaluate the impact of these pretreatments on starch and
protein digestibility, providing insights into the nutritional and functional improvements in both
black and red rice.

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