Germinated Brown Rice Research Articles

Effect of soaking and gaseous treatment on GABA content in germinated brown rice

To establish a new method of processing germinated brown rice (GBR), we processed grain of cultivars with a large germ by soaking and gaseous treatment. After soaking for 3 h and gaseous treatment for 21 h at 35 °C, the content of γ-aminobutyric acid (GABA) in GBR (24.9 mg/100 g) was higher than that by the conventional soaking method (10.1 mg/100 g). Although the number of microorganisms on the surface of the GBR increased during soaking, steaming for 20 min and ethanol treatment for 3 min completely sterilized the GBR and did not reduce the amount of GABA.

Degradation of Soluble Proteins Including Some Allergens in Brown Rice Grains by Endogenous Proteolytic Activity during Germination and Heat-Processing

The effect of germination and subsequent heat-processing on the degradation of soluble proteins, including some allergenic proteins, in brown rice grains was investigated. The content of soluble proteins, including 14-16-kDa and 26-kDa allergens, in the germinated and processed brown rice grains (GPR) was much lower than that of non-germinated brown rice. These proteins in brown rice grains were also much lower after subsequent heat-processing during the manufacturing process. The protease activity of germinated brown rice (GR) was detected and increased 1.5 times after germination. The optimum pH values for degradation of the 26-kDa and 14-16-kDa allergens in the GR grains were 4 and between 5 and 7, respectively. These results suggest that the decrease in the soluble proteins and allergens was induced in part by proteolytic degradation. The presence of a detergent enhanced the proteolytic degradation of the soluble proteins, especially of the 26-kDa allergen, in the brown rice grains. The degradation of the 26-kDa allergen was weakly inhibited by NEM, suggesting cysteine protease(s) may have been involved in its degradation. These results suggest that the two abundant allergens were degraded in a different manner and probably by different proteases in the grains during germination.

Water disinfection by electrochemical treatment

The electrochemical disinfection of germinated brown rice (GBR) circulating water and cooling tower water containing Legionella bacteria was investigated. Results showed the total aerobic plate counts (APC) in the treated GBR circulating water decreased significantly and the turbidity was largely improved at a pulse voltage of 1.0 kV; Legionella bacteria were also disinfected effectively at 1.0 kV. The disinfection was attributed to the synergistic effects of the oxide anode, the electric field, and the radicals formed during the electrochemical treatment. This suggests that electrochemical treatment could be applicable to the disinfection of water from other sources.

Comparative Study on the Modulation of IgE and Cytokine Production byPhellinus linteusGrown on Germinated Brown Rice, Phellinus Linteus and Germinated Brown Rice in Murine Splenocytes

We compared the immunomodulating activities in mice of extracts from Phellinus linteus grown on germinated brown rice (PB), Phellinus linteus (PL) alone, and germinated brown rice (BR) alone. The PL, BR and PB-treated mice were administered with the respective extract (2 mg/head/day) by oral gavage for 4 weeks. All extracts markedly decreased the IgE production and allergic responses in serum and splenocytes. PL and PB increased the proportion of CD4(+) but not CD8(+) T cells in splenocytes. Cytokine production was significantly augmented in all treated mice; the concentration of IFN-gamma was greater in the PL, BR and PB mice than in the control group. The concentration of IL-10 was lower in the BR group than in the other groups. These results may be related to the suppression of IgE production. We conclude that PB modulated the immune responses of IgE production and Th1/Th2 cytokine secretion in murine splenocytes.

Studies on the Germinated Brown Rice for Cooking Foods - Homogeneous Sprouting Control in the Liquid Culture -

Germination environments for controlling the root emergence of germinated brown rice(GBR) were examined. The bench-scale cultures of 2 types for GBR production, including high dissolved oxygen (H-DO) operation and intermediate dissolved oxygen (HL-DO) operation were operated. Growth viability was good, and germination ratios were more than 90% for all the tests. Homogeneous sprouting control was successful. The forms of GBR were found uniformity. However, for H-DO operation, root emergence and elongation were observed. Rooting ratios in HL-DO operation were affected by the level of liquid recirculation and the ratio of the volume of rice and liquid.