Morphology, comprehensive physico-chemical and cooking characteristics of Bamboo rice (Bambusa arundinacea Wild.)

Abstract

The seeds of Bambusa arundinacea Wild., commonly known as bamboo rice, belongs to Gramineae family. Bamboo rice is considered one of the major income sources of indigenous population residing in the south western ghats of India. This less familiar cereal has been less explored for its nutritional and physicochemical properties. Therefore, we have carried out the comprehensive profiling of nutrients in bamboo rice collected from different locations of the south western ghats, and also investigated its morphology, physical and cooking properties. Bamboo rice had an appearance similar to brown rice along with a crease on the ventral side. Ultrastructural observations of bamboo rice grain revealed the presence of a distinct aleurone layer, prominent protein molecules and well-defined polygonal shaped starch molecules. The raw, dehusked samples of bamboo rice landraces had a higher content of proximate components including protein and total dietary fiber (with a mean value of 14.66 ± 0.58 and 6.98 ± 0.19 g/100 g dwb) when compared to the brown and polished rice samples analysed. The concentration of micronutrients such as zinc, iron, copper, calcium, vitamin B2, B5 was found to be higher (with a mean value of 3.38 ± 0.13, 4.47 ± 2.31, 1.16 ± 0.15, 21.38±2.60 mg/100 g dwb, 0.18 ± 0.01, 0.92 ± 0.01 mg/100 g wwb respectively) with a decreased phytic acid (IP6) content. Bamboo rice took longer time to cook (54.6 ± 0.89 min) and was observed to have higher gruel solid loss (3.45 ± 0.28%). The information on nutritional and physicochemical properties of bamboo rice can be exploited by nutritionists and utilised for practical applications in food technology.