Effects of Rice Paddy Processing Methods on the Fatty Acid Content of Local Rice Landraces in Abakaliki, Nigeria

Abstract

The cooking process is pivotal in rice preparation, and crucial for eliciting its distinctive flavor. This study aimed at evaluating the fatty acid compositions of rice paddy soaked in warm and cold water during rice processing. Applying Gas Chromatography equipped with a flame ionization detector (GC-FID) analysis, the study identified fatty acids including myristic, myristoleic, oleic, linoleic, and vaccenic fatty acids as the predominant components in these samples. Remarkably, the levels of these fatty acids were significantly higher in the rice paddy soaked in warm water than their counterparts soaked in cold water. However, myristoleic and linoleic acid concentrations were consistently low across all rice. Notably, among warm water-soaked rice paddy, ‘EBSA3’ displayed the highest concentration of oleic acid. In the principal component analysis (PCA) biplot for cold water-soaked rice accounted for an overall variance of 82.7%, while warm water-soaked rice, rose to 89.2%. Additionally, oleic acid exhibited a substantial positive correlation with vaccenic acid in both raw (r = 0.95) and parboiled (r = 0.96) rice samples, indicating a high degree of relatedness. This implies that changes in one trait may indeed influence others in a similar direction. The study reveals that the fatty acid composition of warm water-soaked rice paddy was higher than that of cold water-soaked rice samples.