Effect of tertiary processing on physical, optical, phytochemical as well as rheological properties of high-protein rice.

The first high-protein rice variety of India, CR Dhan 310, developed at ICAR-NRRI, Cuttack is being selected for the study. It contains 10.1% protein in milled rice as compared to 6-7% protein content in the milled rice of any other normal variety. It has intermediate amylose content (25.1%), medium bold grains rich in protein (10.1%) The significant changes in properties of raw and parboiled rice on processing were studied at statistical differences of  ≤ 0.05. These properties included physical, optical, antioxidant and rheological properties which changed with different processing techniques. All the three processes namely, puffing, popping and flaking increased the dimensions as compared to the raw rice. Peak viscosity measurements demonstrated the breakdown of starch molecules, with white rice having the greatest value (4145 cP) and popped rice having the lowest value (2017 cP) as a result of the starch granules being gelatinized during the production of popped rice. Highest anthocyanin content (2.93 mg/100 g) was observed in puffed rice, phenolic content (347.93 mg/100 g) was highest in popped rice and flaked/flattened rice showed highest flavonoid content (127.12 mg/100 g) indicating that tertiary processing of rice obtained higher values of phytochemicals when compared to the plain high-protein rice. This indicates that the processed products of rice can be consumed directly as ready-to-eat or can be used in preparation of other functional foods to combat malnutrition and build nutritional security. The study indicates that processing could improve the nutritional quality of the rice products.