Healthy Oil Products From Thailand, Rice Bran Oil

Author: Virgo Publishing, LLC.

Not too long ago, using the words “healthy” and “fat” in the same breath just wasn’t done. But now, the word about good fats has spread. Health-conscious consumers are working to cut back on bad fats, and they’re relying on the food industry to provide tasty options that are low in saturated fats. In turn, food-product developers are relying on healthy oils to provide the functional properties of fat in their formulations. Rice bran oil is one such product; it’s versatile, free of trans fatty acids, and it has an added bonus: antioxidants.

Vitamin E, in the form of tocopherol and tocotrienol, naturally occurs in rice bran oil. Said to protect cells against free radicals, vitamin E may help prevent certain cancers and cardiovascular disease. Further, rice bran oil contains oryzanol, a combination of sterols and ferulic acid that has been shown to reduce low-density lipoprotein, or so-called “bad” cholesterol.

Rice bran oil is similar to peanut oil in fatty-acid composition, and has a slightly higher saturation level than conventional soybean oil (approximate 2.5% of the total fatty acids higher). Oleic and linoleic fatty acids make up more than 80% of the fatty acids. Further, the low linolenic acid content of rice bran oil (1.1%) makes it more stable to oxidation than soybean oil (6.8%). Its appearance ranges from cloudy to clear, depending on the dewaxing processes applied.

Already widely used as a frying oil in Asia, rice bran oil can be used in place of vegetable oils in most applications. It has a subtle, nutlike flavor and good storage stability. It also has a good fry life, is resistant to smoking at high-frying temperatures and doesn’t require hydrogenation. This is largely due to the oil’s moderate level of saturated fatty acids, and partially due to its low linolenic-acid content.

Many Japanese restaurants in the United States use this oil for frying tempura and for stir-frying, as its delicate flavor does not overpower meat, seafood or vegetables. It can also be used in place of coconut oil for a popcorn oil with a lower saturated-fat content.

When processed to retain high levels of antioxidant tocopherols and tocotrienols, rice bran oil also can be used as a coating for crackers, nuts and other snacks to extend shelf life. Further, rice bran oil can be blended with less-stable oils to improve their stability in food systems. Because rice bran oil forms a stable ß’ crystal lattice and it has an intermediate palmitic acid content, it provides good plasticity, creaminess and spreading properties to margarine and shortening without hydrogenation.

Author: Leslie Orr (http://www.medicalnewstoday.com/articles/24319.php)

A natural component of rice bran oil lowers cholesterol in rats, and ongoing research also shows it may have potential as an anti-cancer and anti-infection agent in humans, according to a University of Rochester scientist who has studied the antioxidant since 1996.

The latest findings from Mohammad Minhajuddin, Ph.D., and colleagues, are reported in the May 2005 Food and Chemical Toxicology journal. They show that total cholesterol levels in animals dropped by 42 percent, and LDL or “bad cholesterol” levels dropped up to 62 percent, after their diets were supplemented with a concentrated form of Vitamin E called tocotrienol rich fraction or TRF isolated from rice bran oil.

Vitamin E, which has been widely studied for its health benefits, consists of both tocopherols and tocotrienols. Much research has focused on the tocopherols derived from corn, wheat and soybean. But the tocotrienols (TRF) seem to have greater antioxidant properties and are becoming more noteworthy in scientific research, Minhajuddin says. TRF is derived from barley, oats, palm and rice bran.

The best form of TRF comes from rice bran oil, which is contained in the outer grain hull of rice. Its properties inhibit the activity of HMG-CoA reductase, an enzyme involved in cholesterol biosynthesis. However, since taking any form of Vitamin E for a long time can be harmful, the purpose of Minhajuddin’s latest reported research was to find the minimum dose of TRF that provided the maximum antioxidants and effectively lowered cholesterol.

The results: The most effective dose in rats was 8 IU kg/day. Extrapolated to humans, a person with an average body weight of 154 pounds would get around 560 IU, which is close to the 400 IU of Vitamin E normally taken. (The upper tolerable intake of Vitamin E is 1500 IU).

Researchers have been investigating natural ways (besides diet and exercise) to achieve lower cholesterol levels, despite the popularity and effectiveness of statin drugs. Although millions of Americans take statins and do well, they are expensive and they come with side effects. So far, scientists have not found any adverse effects of tocotrienols, says Minhajuddin, a research associate in the Department of Pediatrics.

Minhajuddin, who is from India, also has preliminary, unpublished data from a study he conducted in that country, showing that TRF reduces cholesterol in humans as well as in animals. Five healthy volunteers with total cholesterol levels in the “normal” range of 170-230 mg/dL, who ingested TRF in capsule form at a dose of 8 IU kg/day for four weeks, saw their cholesterol levels drop by 10 percent with a 26-percent decline in LDL-cholesterol levels. A case study of a 5-year-old boy in India, who had a genetic defect (familial hypercholesterolemia) that caused his total cholesterol to climb to 440 mg/dL, resulted in a 20-percent decline after about two months of tocotrienol supplements. The boy’s cholesterol did rise again, however, after 100 weeks of TRF supplements.

In addition, Minhajuddin and colleagues previously showed in animals that TRF reacts with liver enzymes in such a way that it clears toxic substances from the organ, and reduces or stabilizes liver tumors. The group concluded that long-term use of tocotrienol might reduce overall cancer risk, according to published research last year in the European Journal of Cancer Prevention. Currently, Minhajuddin’s research group is using a scientific model to study infection and the immune system, and how to regulate the expression of a gene called ICAM-1 on the surface of endothelial cells.

Much of Minhajuddin’s research on TRF was carried out in India until he joined the UR faculty in 2003. A Research Fellowship from the Indian Council of Agricultural Research, New Delhi, funded his work.

Author: Multi Commodity Exchange of India Ltd.

Rice bran is a by-product of the rice milling industry from which rice bran oil is extracted. Typically rice bran accounts for 7 –8 % of the rice produced and the recovery of rice bran oil from rice bran is usually 15%. Rice bran oil is used for human consumption. Anti-oxidants of Vitamin E group are naturally occurring in rice bran oil. Appearance of rice bran oil ranges from cloudy to clear depending on the degree of dewaxing and winterization process applied. It also has several industrial uses. After oil extraction, the by-product obtained is de-oiled rice bran.

Global Scenario

• Global production of rice bran oil fluctuates between 10 - 14 lakh tons depending on rice production.
• Rice Bran Oil is extensively used in Japan, Korea, China, Taiwan and Thailand as ‘Premium Edible Oil’.
• Thailand, India, China, Japan and Myanmar are important producers of rice bran oil constituting more than 95 % of global production.