Nutritional and Sensory Evaluation of Protein Rich Fraction from Broken Rice after Bioethanol Production

Abstract

The growing demand for sustainable and affordable plant-based proteins has created opportunities for utilizing agro-food industry byproducts as value-added ingredients. The present study aimed to evaluate the proximate composition and sensory acceptance of a protein rich fraction (PRF) obtained after bioethanol production from broken rice, a byproduct of the rice milling industry. Proximate analysis revealed that PRF rice is a high-protein matrix (65.43 ± 0.68%), with moisture (7.76 ± 0.97%), crude fat (3.60 ± 0.20%), crude fiber (1.38 ± 0.17%), ash (3.20 ± 0.16%), and total carbohydrate (19.98 ± 1.59%). PRF rice (1–10%) was incorporated into a standardized millet-based flour mix and subjected to sensory evaluation. The formulation with 7% substitution received the highest overall acceptability score, while no significant differences (p > 0.05) were observed across treatments. These results demonstrate that PRF rice is a nutrient-dense, and sensory-acceptable plant protein ingredient with promising applications in the development of sustainable food products.