Effect of enzymatic treatment on sedimentation and flocculation abilities of solid particles in rice washing drainage and its relationship with protein profiles.

In this research, the protein participation that occurs with the flocculation and sedimentation phenomena caused by adding enzymes to solid particles derived from rice washing drainage and the electrostatic properties of the solid particle surfaces was examined. As seen in the results, adding protease to rice washing drainage decreased the protein content, strengthened the negative surface electron charge, and decreased the isoelectric point (IEP) value of the solid particles. In addition, about 25% of the proteins in the rice washing drainage still remained after enzyme treatment. Moreover, due to the enzyme treatment, specific and gradual degradations of 10, 13, and 16kDa of prolamin and 20-22kDa of gluterin basic subunit, both categorized in the basic protein group, were observed in an SDS-PAGE analysis. These results suggest that the flocculation and sedimentation of solid particles in rice washing drainage occur as a result of the formation of the IEP-dependent strengthening of the negative surface electron charge on the solid particle surface.

Oral administration of γ-aminobutyric acid and γ-oryzanol prevents stress-induced hypoadiponectinemia.

Metabolic syndrome is a cluster of risk factors including insulin resistance and type 2 diabetes and is found to associate partly with chronic stress at work in human. Adiponectin circulates in mammal blood mainly as a low molecular weight (LMW) trimer, hexamer, and a high molecular weight (HMW) multimers. Low circulating levels of adiponectin are related to metabolic syndrome. We have then investigated the influence of immobilization stress on plasma adiponectin concentrations in mice. Relative LMW and HMW adiponectin levels were markedly reduced by immobilization stress (0.66±0.07 and 0.59±0.06 after 102 h, respectively), significantly different from the control values (p<0.01 and 0.05, respectively). γ-Aminobutyric acid (GABA) and γ-oryzanol abundantly contained in germinated brown rice have some physiological functions. We further investigated the effect of GABA, γ-oryzanol, GABA plus γ-oryzanol on adiponectin levels in mice subjected to immobilization stress. GABA and γ-oryzanol significantly increased the relative LMW and HMW adiponectin levels under immobilization stress (1.10±0.11 and 0.99±0.19 after 102 h, respectively, for GABA; 1.08±0.17 and 1.15±0.17 after 102 h, respectively, for γ-oryzanol). Additionally, the co-administration of GABA and γ-oryzanol also increased both relative LMW and HMW adiponectin levels (1.02±0.07 and 0.99±0.10 after 102 h, respectively) and was effective in an earlier phase from 30 to 54 h. The results indicate that the co-administration of GABA and γ-oryzanol might be effective in preventing stress-induced hypoadiponectinemia in mice and be also a promising tool for improving metabolic syndrome aggravated by chronic stress.

Bioethanol production from rice washing drainage and rice bran.

Bioethanol production from rice washing drainage and rice bran derived from a rinse-free process of rice manufacturing was established using the combinations of an enzymatic procedure and an ultra-sonic procedure of rice washing drainage for a sample pre-treatment. The maximum ethanol concentration was attained at 6.2% (v/v).