Hydrothermal and biotechnological treatments on nutraceutical content and antioxidant activity of rice bran

•Pigmented rice bran is having higher bioactive property compared to non-pigmented.•Steaming process resulted in higher retention of bioactives in all varieties.•Parboiling and biotechnology process showed increase in oryzanol and tocotrienol.•Technological interventions result in stabilized nutraceutical rich pigmented bran.•Steam stabilized bran can be incorporated as ingredient in functional foods.

The effect of processing such as steaming, germination and parboiling on nutraceuticals and in vitro bioactive properties of rice bran from three different rice varieties namely Jyothi (pigmented), IR64 and Sona masuri (non-pigmented) were investigated. Within the varieties envisaged, pigmented Jyothi variety contained higher levels of vitamin E, soluble, bound and total polyphenol, flavanoids, free radical scavenging activity and total antioxidant activity. Direct steam exposure of bran resulted in an increase in, ether extractives and oryzanol, as well as retention of all the vitamin E components, bound polyphenols, flavonoids and decrease in soluble and total polyphenol content, free radical scavenging activity and total antioxidant activity compared to native. Parboiling as well as germination of paddy resulted in an increase, in the content of ether extractives and oryzanol, whereas other bioactive properties decreased compared to native. Hence it may be concluded that bioactive components and antioxidant properties were significantly higher in Jyothi bran compared to the other two paddy brans, and processing leads to changes in bioactive properties with maximum retention of bioactive components in the steamed bran.