A Simple Narrative Review of Progress on the Processing and Utilization of Functional Rice

Area of Science:

• Agricultural Science
• Food Science
• Nutritional Science

Background:

• Functional rice varieties (colored, low-protein, high-resistant starch, micronutrient-enriched, bioreactor) are gaining attention for health benefits.
• Processing methods significantly impact the nutritional integrity and bioactive component retention in functional rice.

Purpose of the Study:

• To systematically review research on the processing and utilization of diverse functional rice types.
• To analyze the impact of processing techniques on nutrient retention and explore functional rice's health enhancement potential.

Main Methods:

• Comprehensive literature review of scientific publications on functional rice processing and utilization.
• Analysis of research progress across various functional rice categories and processing impacts.

Main Results:

• Functional rice demonstrates considerable potential regarding nutritional value, health effects, and market demand.
• Identified challenges include bioactive component loss during processing, maintaining agronomic traits, and market acceptance.

Conclusions:

• Functional rice is crucial for dietary enrichment and addressing malnutrition and chronic diseases.
• Future research should prioritize optimizing processing, genetic engineering, and molecular breeding for enhanced nutritional and agronomic traits.