Brown rice is nutritionally superior to white rice, yet oil rancidity can be problematic during processing and storage regarding sensory attributes. Germinating brown rice is known to generally increase some health-promoting compounds. In response to increasing the consumption of plant-based beverages, we sprouted unstabilized brown rice, using green technologies and saccharification enzymes for value-added beverages. 'Rondo' paddy rice was dehulled, sorted and germinated, and beverages were produced and compared against non-germinated brown and white brewers rice beverages. The preliminary germinated brown rice beverage contained significantly higher concentrations of total lipids, diacylglycerols, triacylglycerols, free sterols, phytosterol esters and oryzanols than both non-germinated brown and white rice beverages. White rice beverages had significantly higher free fatty acids. Significant lipid losses occurred during sieving, yet novel germinated brown rice beverages contained appreciable levels of valuable health-beneficial lipids, which appeared to form natural emulsions. Further pilot plant investigations should be scaled-up for pasteurization and adjusted through emulsification to ameliorate sieving losses.
Keywords: enzymatic saccharification; functional beverages; germination; lipids; sprouting; value-added.