The potential of rice bran as a bioabsorbent for tea catechins was examined. Defatted rice bran had the highest adsorption capacity for tea catechins and the best selectivity for (-)-epigallocatechin gallate over total catechins among water-washed rice bran and untreated rice bran. The adsorption characteristics of tea catechins onto defatted rice bran were determined over a range of concentration (0.5 to 2.5 g/L) and temperatures (10, 25, and 45 °C). The adsorption of tea catechins onto defatted rice bran showed excellent fitness with the pseudo-second-order model at different temperature. Both the Langmuir and Freundlich models adequately describe the isothermal adsorption of tea catechins onto defatted rice bran. The adsorption of total catechins on rice bran decreased from 10 to 25 °C, whereas was greatly enhanced at 45 °C. The adsorption system of bioadsorbent with multiconstituents may not be as simple as the single-force-driving adsorption system. Protein and cellulose are the main contributors to the adsorption of tea catechins on defatted rice bran.
Practical application: Rice bran is regarded as a good fibre source that can be added to various food products and health supplements, which is a potential biocarrier for bioactives. Our study showed that defatted rice bran had a high affinity for tea catechins but caffeine, and provided a promising way for selective enrichment of catechins on defatted rice bran under practical condition. Protein and cellulose are the main contributors to the adsorption of tea catechins on defatted rice bran.
Keywords: adsorption; catechins; isotherms; kinetics; rice bran.
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