Enzymatic treatment of rice bran to improve processing

Abstract

AbstractA modification of the process of oil extraction from rice bran is proposed, introducing one or two enzymatic reactions previous to solvent extraction. Although a total aqueous enzymatic extraction process did not result in reasonable oil extraction yields, an interesting alternative results from enzymatic reactions previous to solvent extraction or pressing. A thermal treatment of rice bran is first applied to deactivate lipase, but also to gelatinize starch previous to reaction with α‐amylase. This is followed by a saccharifying step with glucoamylase to produce glucose (28 g/100 g of rice bran treated), while the residual paste, 66.7% of the original bran, may be subjected to a proteolytic process for protein extraction or directly treated with the solvent to obtain bran oil. Finally, under the defined extraction conditions using hexane, yields of oil are 5% higher when rice bran has been previously treated with α‐amylase.