Composition and Industrial Uses of Rice Bran and Rice Hulls

Abstract
Rice plants produce bioactive rice brans and hulls that have been reported to have numerous healthpromoting effects in cells, animals, and humans as well as industrial values on construction, respectively due
to their high bioactivity components and ash content. The main object of this review is to consolidate and
integrate the widely scattered information on the composition and the correspond usage of rice hull and bran,
The results show that functional food products with desirable nutritional and biological properties can be
developed as well as bioethanol and biodiesel fuel, and multiple construction and industry materials. The
expecting contribution on this area is to better understanding of the potential impact of the described healthpromoting potential of the rice-derived brans, oils, and hulls in food and medicine. Such an understanding will
enhance public nutrition and health and make benefits for the agricultural and industrial economies.

1. Introduction
Rice is one of the main cereal in the world. Over 745,000,000 tons of rice and paddy are produced in in
the world in 2013 (FAO, 2014). In order to produce edible white rice, about 20% of hull and 5-8% of bran
which depending on milling degree are removed with robber mill and whitener. Rice bran is considered as a
cheap resource which rich in proteins, lipids, diet fiber, vitamin and mineral and plenty of bioactive
compounds comprise sterols, higher alcohols, gamma-oryzanol, tocopherols, tocotrienols and phenolic
compounds (Aguilar-Garcia et al., 2007 and Nicolosi et al., 1994). In recent years, rice bran is used as a
source of beneficial components extraction. (Antioxidant components and properties of five long-grained rice
bran extracts from commercial available cultivars in Thailand), Rice Many researchers studied usage of bran
and hull to prevent waste.

2. Rice bran
Rice bran is a by-product of rice milling which contained rice pericarp, aleurone, and subaleurone
fractions. Bran from shallers and whiteners have different fragments proportion, which is also depending on
milling degree and rice grain itself. 15 kinds of discrete particles were observed, with different chemical
constituents. (Pineda, 1976)
2.1 Composition
2.1.1

Basic composition:
Nitrogen compounds vary from 1-3% of dry basis of rice bran. Largest amount of nitrogen content is
protein and about other 16% is non-protein nitrogen. Major free amino acids reported in bran are glutamic
acid, alanine and serine. (FAO, 1968, 1972) Rice bran proteins contain 37% albumin, 36% globulin, 22%
1

glutelin, and 5% prolamin (Betschart, 1977).

Lipids is generally concentrated in pericarp, aleurone and the germ of the rice kernel. Bran contains 1520% oil with 81-84% triacylglycerols (TAG), 2-3% diacylglycerols (DAG), 1-2% monoacylglycerols (MAG),
2-6% free fatty acids (FFA), 3-4% wax, 0.8% glycolipids, 1-2%phospholipids (PL) and 4%unsap.( Mahua
Ghosh, 2007)
Carbohydrates component, including starch, free sugar, cellulose and hemicelluloses, were ranges from
34.1% to 52.3% of rice bran. Starch is abundantly in endosperm, absent in pericarp and hull and have been
identified in the germ and aleurone layers. As consequence, the starch content of rice bran increases from the
first to the last whitening machine. (Gohl et al., 1981) 3-5% of free sugars content is reported, although free
sugars are absent in pericarp, tegmen and aleurone. Apparently endosperm and germ make a significant
attribution. Rice bran is rich in cellulose and hemicellulose, which are basic components of pericarp and
aleurone. Crude cellulose content of 10 samples of Italian bran ranged from 9.64% to 12.80% have been
reported. (Leonzio, 1967)
Fiber primarily found in pericarp, aleurone layers, and lignin content ranged from 7.70 to 13.11% in the
bran, which decreased from each cone with the whitening process.
Vitamins of rice bran is basically B group and tocopherols and poor in vitamin A and C. (Table 1,
Barber, 1980)Rice bran is the major part of the concentration of vitamin B. Vitamin content is vary depending
on rice varieties, milling process and degree.
Table 1 Vitamin content of rice bran

Minerals elements concentration in rice bran varies with the degree of milling and rice growth
environment. Some element such as P, K and Mg increase initially and decrease with the degree of process,
others like Ca, Mn and Fe decrease sharply at early milling. This decrease concentration occurs in aleurone
layers. (Kennedy and Schelstraete, 1975) Phosphorus is one of the major mineral content of rice bran,
followed with the decreasing order are potassium, magnesium and silicon. (Barber , 1980)
Enzymes existed in rice bran are totally 26 kinds including -amylase, -amylase, ascorbic acid oxidase,
2

catalase, cytochrome oxidase, dehydrogenase, deoxyribonuclease, esterase, flavin oxidase, et al. Rice bran
is considered as a various enzyme systems (Barber, 1980) Stabilization of rice bran is more related to lipase,
lipoxygenase, and peroxidase, where lipase merits should be paid more attention because it affects the keeping
quality of rice bran.
2.1.2

Functional composition:
Rice bran powder has a high nutritive value with benefits such as the lowering of blood cholesterol
(Kahlon, 1994), decreasing the incidence of atherosclerosis disease (Saunders, 1985) and having antioxidative
activity (P Simonetti et al., 2001), antibacterial properties (Kim et al., 2006) and laxative effects (Saunders,
1990).
The beneficial components of rice bran comprise sterols, higher alcohols, gamma-oryzanol, tocopherols,
tocotrienols and phenolic compounds (Aguilar-Garcia et al., 2007; Nicolosi et al., 1994).
It is reported that brans contained the following bioactive compounds in normal bran: anthocyanins
(0g/g); phenolic acids (2101g/g); -tocopherol (71g/g); -oryzanol (3681g/g). Variations of rice have
different constituent of these bioactive compounds. Black bran has higher content of anthocyanin, phenolic
acid, and -oryzanol which can contribute to high antioxidant activity. (Laokuldilok et al., 2010)
-oryzanol, which is ubiquitous as a component of primary plant cell walls, have hypolipidemic and
antioxidant properties. In addition to tocopherols, tocotrienols and several phenolic compounds have
potentially beneficial effects (Liu, 2003), such as antioxidative activity (Pietta, 2000) and antibacterial
properties (Kim, 2006).

2.2 Industrial uses of rice branfunctionality and method

Rice bran has naturally occurring lipases that hydrolyze the oil into glycerol and free fatty acids and give
the product a rancid smell and taste. High content of lipid in rice bran, especially unsaturated fatty acid. The
rapid onset of rancidity soon after milling process limited its consumption on human food. (Carrol, 1990;
Juliano, 1994; Hammond, 1994) The rice bran stabilization process consists of the deactivation or destruction
of active lipases and peroxidases (Saunders, 1990). Classic stabilization processes are primarily based on
thermal treatment. (Juliano et al., 1994; Prakash et al., 1996) Parboiling or toasting or moist heating gives
great stabilization to the bran (Prevention of hydrolytic rancidity in rice bran,) Microwave-heating is was
reported have good performance in rice bran stabilization without deleterious changes to major nutrition
concentrations. (Ramezanzadeh, 1999) Other methods include the use of antilipase enzyme, chemical
products, such as hydrochloric acid, acetic acid, acrylonitrile and propanal. (Prakash, 1995; Prakash, 1996; da
Silva, 2006; MM Most, 2005)
2.2.1

Rice bran oil

RBO contains is depending on the degree and method of processing. It has been reported RBO contains
oleic acid (38.4%), linoleic acid (34.4%), and linolenic acid (2.2%) as unsaturated fatty acids, and palmitic
(21.5%) and stearic (2.9%) acids as saturated fatty acids. The unsaponifiable fraction (4.2%) has total
tocopherols (81.3 mg%), gamma-oryzanol (1.6%), and squalene (320 mg%) (Rukmini, 1991)
Rice bran oil has high efficiency on hypolipidemic, especially on lower plasma cholesterol. This effect of
3

rice bran oil can be attributed to specific components such as -oryzanol and tocotrienol. (Rukmini, 1991)
Rice bran oil extrusion process including following steps: cleaning, heat treating, drying, extraction,
dewaxing, degumming, deacidification (refining), decolorization (bleaching), deodorization and winterization.
The earlier extraction use high pressure to press the oil out. This method is inefficient for rice bran. Solvent
extraction with organic solvent can extract 95%-99% of the oil and is widely used for rice bran oil extraction.
2.2.2

Bioethanol and biodiesel fuel

Toxic rice brans compounds can used as raw materials for the production of bioethanol and biodiesel
fuels.
Watanabe (2009) achieved bioethanol production by rice washing drainage and rice bran derived from a
rinse-free process of rice manufacture. Srilatha (2012) developed a process for biodiesel synthesis from rice
bran fatty acids. Under optimum conditions, about 92% of the fatty acids were transformed to the biodiesel
formulation. One step process for the production of biodiesel from rice bran oil and microbial fuel cell process
for generation of electricity from rice bran are also been developed. (N El Boulifi et al., 2013 ; Y Zhang et al.,
2013; MA Moqsud et al., 2013)

2.2.3

Functional product extraction:

Rice bran have plenty of bioactivity compounds such as comprise sterols, higher alcohols, -oryzanol,
tocopherols, tocotrienols and phenolic. In addition, it is a good resource of inositol, ceramide, polysaccharide,

aminobutyric acid, enzyme, pigment and minerals, such as silica, iron, calcium, and zinc (Luh and hus, 1980).
There are many methods for treatment and extraction of its useful compounds, such as Soxhlet extraction,
direct solidliquid extraction and, supercritical CO2 and sub-CW treatments (Hus and luh 1996; Mamidipally
et al., 2004; Xu et al., 2000). Mostly are using organic solvents, such as methanol, ethanol, ethyl acetate,
hexane, acetone, and isopropanol. (Chen et al. 2005; Proctor et al., 1996, 1994)
Protein of bran has high digestibility. Thus, rice bran is considered a good source of hypoallergenic
proteins, and as such, rice bran protein may serve as a suitable ingredient for infant food. However, protein in
rice bran are complex and it has extensive disulfide bond cross-linking as well as bond with phytate and fiber
in bran made bran protein hard to isolated. The most commonly used solvent to extract proteins from rice bran
is alkali (Cagampang, 1966; Betschart, 1977; Gnanasambandam, 1995). High alkaline conditions could cause
undesirable side reactions and potential toxicity, such as lysinoalanine, thus losing the nutritive values of
protein. (M. Wang et al., 1999)
Rice bran fiber (DRB), extracted from defatted rice bran, can be separated into soluble and insoluble
rice bran fiber (IRBF and SRBF). IRBF and SRBF both with good physical and bioactive properties, but the
insoluble dietary fibers are not suitable for use as food ingredients because they produce unpleasant mouth
feel even if they are finely powdered. (Thebaudin et al., 1997) Extraction of water soluble dietary fibers by an
alkali treatment, which is a complex process includes 5 steps, has been attempted. (Aoe, 1993)

3. Rice hulls
4

Rice hull is the major derivation of the rice crop, which can takes 20% of died paddy rice weight. Rice
hull have poor nutrition value, low bulk density, high ash content and abrasive characteristics. These
properties limit its usage and only small amount of hulls was used for certain low-value applications such as
chicken litter and animal roughage. Many researches start focusing on the utilization development to solve the
created problem of space and pollution by rice hull.
3.1 Composition
The composition of hulls are presented in table 2. Rice hull is lower in crude protein, fat, and available
carbohydrates but higher in crude fiber, ash. The total digestible nutrient content id less than 10%.
Table 2 Comparative composition of rice and oats hulls

The major carbohydrates of hulls are cellulose, crude fiber and hemicellulose. Starch is absent in hulls
although small amounts are noted in some commercial product.
The crude protein content of rice hull ranges from 1.9 to 3.0%, and animo acid composition of protein
in hull is reported by Houston, 1970.
The lipid content of rice hulls ranges from 0.39 to 1.0%. According to Harman and Lago rice hulls
lipid contains 4 times of unsaponifiable and free fatty acid than rice bran lipid. Lipids from rice hull have
lower proportion of unsaturated acids according to low percentage of saturated C 22 and C24. (Choudhury, 1980)
Inorganic component is the major component of rice hulls. Most composition of Inorganic component
is ash, vary from 13.2 to 29.0% of the weight of rice hull. Silica content of ash is around 94-96%. The other
minor components of ash is K 2O, CaO, Fe2O3, P2O5, SO3, Na2O, MgO and Cl. The elements value was
determined with a wide range can attribute to purity of samples and the accuracy of the analytical procedures
used. (Hsu and Luh, 1980)
Organic acids extracted from rice hull is 57.81.4 meq/kg, and 30.3 meq/kg of them is organic acid.
Oxalic and citric acids is the major organic acids in rice hull. Aromatic acids are ferulic, vanillic, p-coumaric,
sinapic, p-hydroxybenzoic, salicylic and indolacetic acids. (Mikkelsen, 1961)
5

3.2 Industrial uses of rice hulls

3.2.1

Silica product
Burning rice hull as fuel to generate energy results in waste product, rice hull ash (RHA), which is rich in
silica. (Kamath, 1998; Chakraverty, 1991) On thermal treatment, the silica converts to crystobalite, which is a
crystalline form of silica, however, under controlled burning conditions, amorphous silica with high reactivity,
ultra-fine size and large surface area is produced. (S. Chandrasekhar et al., 2003) Soluble silicates produced
from silica are widely used in the glass, ceramics, and cement as a major component, and in pharmaceuticals,
cosmetics and detergents industries as a bonding and adhesive agents. It is reported that rice hull ash can
enhance the strength of concrete blocks, which is due to its pozzolanic property. (I. K. Cisse et al., 2000)

3.2.2

Ethanol and biodiesel production

Rice hulls are low-cost potential raw materials of ethanol product. A rice hull can fermented and
hydrolyzed by recombinant E. Coli strain FBR 5 enzyme and produce 0.43 g of ethanol per gram of available
sugars. (Saha, B. C et al., 2005) Acid hydrolysate of rice hull is also used to increase the production of ethanol
production. (Imamoglu, E, 2013) A rice hull hydrolysate was used for the production of microbial lipids which
is a potential feedstock for biodiesel production. (Economou, C. N. et al., 2011) High purity of silica from rics
hull ash is also an ideal source for preparing advanced materials like SiC, SiN, Sialons etc. (A. Karera, 1986)

3.2.3

Absorbent
Rice hulls are a potentially low-cost adsorbent for the removal of potentially toxic heavy metals and
dyes. (Chuah, A, 2005) Rice hulls were also used to remove radioactive cesium from aqueous solutions.
(Mishra, S. P, 2007) The adsorption behavior of rice husks for antimony ions from aqueous solutions has been
investigated (Khalid, 2000) Rice husk has also been explored for dyes, phenols, organochlorine compounds
and benzene removal from water. (McKay et al., 1999; Adachi et al., 2001) Rice hull ash (RHA) has been
explored as an adsorbent for the removal of lead( II) ion (Wang et al., 2008), Cd(II) (Kumar et al., 2006),
methylene blue dye (Chandrasek et al.,2006), phenol (Mahvi et al., 2004) from aqueous solutions.

4. Conclusion
Rice bran serves as a source of widely studied rice bran oil and numerous individual bioactive
compounds, while rice hull are widely used as energy source and additive of concrete and absorbent. Both of
the by-product of rice have its unique components and properties. The findings made by researches are not
only might help our understanding of the production and biological functions of rice-derived brans, oils, and
hulls but also have practical implications for agriculture and industry that could lead to better foods and
improved human health as well as decrease the pollution and space problem created by large amount of byproduct every year.

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