Rice bran composition and its emerging potential applications

Abstract Rice bran is a by-product of milling industry and constitutes about 10% total weight of rough rice. It is mainly composed of germ, aleurone, pericarp, and subaleurone layer. It is an important source of sterols, dietary fibers, fatty acids, minerals, and vitamins. Prevalent scientific argument on several health benefits is related to dietary fiber consumptions. The attitude of consumers toward health foods is auspicious and the scope for functional foods is increasing in the world market globally. The application of rice bran is limited at industry level due to rancidity caused by the contact of rice bran oil with lipases in process of milling. Several stabilization approaches have been ongoing for rice bran supplementation in various food preparations. Rice bran oil is emerging as an excellent candidate for its use as plant-derived solvent. Rice bran oil is used as solvent for the extraction of volatile bioactive compounds, nonvolatile bioactive compounds, volatile aromatic compounds (VACs), polycyclic aromatic hydrocarbons (PAHs), and carotenoids. In view of significance of rice bran oil, this chapter focus on rice bran oil functionalities, potential application for health, and also describes the uses of rice bran oil as solvent.