Determination of γ-Oryzanol in Refined Rice Bran Oil by Nuclear Magnetic Resonance Method.

Abstract

γ-Oryzanol contained as a minor component in rice bran oil (RBO) is a group of phytosterol ferulates. The existence of γ-oryzanol in rice bran oil is very interesting because of the special biological functions. The methods to determine γ-oryzanol in crude RBO include the absorptiometry, thin layer chromatography (TLC) and high performance liquid chromatography (HPLC). However, those methods need much solvent and long operating time. Moreover, some of those methods are not able to apply to refined RBO because of the low sensitivity. We have developed the method to determine γ-oryzanol in refined RBO using proton nuclear magnetic resonance (1H-NMR). Refined RBO had a specific chemical shift due to the methoxy group of ferulate in γ-oryzanol at 3.9 ppm on the 1H-NMR spectrum. The intensity of the chemical shift due to the methoxy group of ferulate was consistent with the amounts of γ-oryzanol in refined RBO. This NMR method was able to quickly and easily determine γ-oryzanol in refined RBO.