Influence of weevil on the physicochemical characteristics, functional properties, and nutritional value of rice (Oryza sativa L.) produced at Yagoua (far-north Cameroon).

The infestation of rice by pests during the post-harvest phase is one of the consequences of the deterioration of its technological and nutritional quality. Therefore, the present study was carried out to determine the physico-chemical characteristics, functional properties and nutritional value of uninfested and weevil-infested rice during storage. To this end, rice samples were collected from a rice production unit in the Far North Region of Cameroon. The physico-chemical and functional properties of uninfested and infested rice flours were determined using standard methods. The results showed that among the functional properties, only porosity showed a significant difference (p˂0.05) between infested (13.88 %) and uninfested (17.30 %) rice flours. Concerning the proximate composition, except for the carbohydrate content, where a significant decrease (p˂0.05) was observed between infested (68.15 %) and non-infested (58.43 %) rice flours, no significant difference (p > 0.05) was observed for the other nutrients evaluated. It was also observed that weevil infestation had a significant (p < 0.05) effect on the mineral content of the rice samples. Furthermore, scanning electron microscopy analysis revealed the presence of smaller granules with imprecise shapes in non-infested rice flour. Thus, this study showed that weevil infestation had a significant negative impact on the nutritional quality of rice and that good practices must be adopted by producers to ensure the quality of rice grains during storage.