Date of Publication

2023

Document Type

Master's Thesis

Degree Name

Master of Science in Chemistry

Subject Categories

Chemistry

College

College of Science

Department/Unit

Chemistry

Thesis Advisor

Drexel H. Camacho

Defense Panel Chair

Marissa G. Noel

Defense Panel Member

Emmanuel V. Garcia
Pamela Raye Tadeo

Abstract/Summary

Vitamin A is a fat-soluble vitamin that plays a major role in normal growth, vision, and reproduction. However, vitamin A deficiency is a very common problem among children, especially in developing countries, and is one of the leading causes of preventable blindness. Rice is a staple food that can be used as a vehicle of various vitamins and nutrients; therefore, rice fortification is seen as an effective tool that can potentially improve the daily intake of vitamin A. Recently, a new sonic-based technique has been introduced to fortify rice, but it is currently limited to water-soluble nutrients. This work explored different solvent systems in fortifying sonic-treated rice. The RC160 rice variety (milled and brown rice) was treated with sonic waves, air-dried, and soaked in vitamin A solution. Two different solvent systems: water-ethanol (3:1) and virgin coconut oil were used to dissolve the vitamin A and soak the sonic-treated rice grains. FTIR results showed the effective incorporation of vitamin A as indicated by the observed olefinic C-H and carbonyl absorbances characteristic of vitamin A. Differential Scanning Calorimetry showed an increase in peak temperature and changes in gelatinization enthalpy compared to the control confirming the presence of the fortificant in rice matrix. FTIR and DSC data showed that the coconut oil solvent system showed more efficient vitamin A uptake compared to the water-ethanol solvent system. This was confirmed by the observed dramatic increase in vitamin A content upon fortification from 0.0 IU/100g of control untreated rice, to 6,295 IU/100 g, and 6,500 IU/100 g when fortification was done in water-ethanol and coconut oil, respectively. Comparable results were obtained for brown rice. Fortified rice grains were also able to retain Vitamin A content even after washing and cooking. The percent retention was 9.46% and 34.19% brown and milled rice fortified in water-ethanol while, 92.64% and 136.94% was observed for brown and milled rice fortified in virgin coconut oil. Textural properties indicate improved properties especially on the decrease in hardness of milled rice which translates to better palatability and eating quality of fortified rice samples. Sensory investigation using color and smell also showed good consumer acceptability. Fortification through supercritical carbon dioxide was also explored and showed promising initial results. Overall, these results can be an additional protocol in the arsenal of fortification processes to address the massive vitamin A deficiency problem.

Abstract Format

html

Language

English

Format

Electronic

Physical Description

xiii, 127 leaves

Keywords

Rice; Fortification; Vitamin A; Vitamin A deficiency

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Embargo Period

2-10-2024

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