Nutrient enriched black rice: A sustainable substitute to alleviate deficiency

Black rice (Oryza sativa L.) is a highly nutritious, good source of vitamins and bioactive compounds i.e, flavonoids and anthocyanin etc. A lab experiment was conducted at Institute of Agricultural Sciences, SOA on seven rice varieties i.e, Chakhao, Kalabati, Kala biroin, Gedi Ganjam, MTU-1061, Kalachampa and Jamuna by identifying their nutritional status and bioactive compounds. Black rice landraces Chakhao, Kala biroin and Kalabati showed most promising results in multiple parameters. Kalabati showed highest result in anthocyanin (40.25 mg/100g) and flavonoid (23.87 mg/100g) content, followed by Chakhao and Kala biroin. In terms of protein and fat content Gedi Ganjam which is a white landrace showed effective result i.e, 10% and 0.29% respectively. In context with dietary fibre and energy content Chakhao gave highest result, 5.56% and 294.35 Kcal/100g respectively. Gedi Ganjam showed highest non reducing sugar followed by Kalachampa and MTU-1061 but in Chakhao, reducing sugar content showed best result followed by Kala biroin and Kalabati. Chakhao also recorded highest TSC content than other six varieties. Carotenoid content in black rice varieties was observed better than white rice varieties. From this experiment it was also revealed that Kalabati and Chakhao showed highest result in mineral content i.e, Fe (8.24 mg/100g) and Zn (3.02 mg/100g) respectively. As black rice has more fibre, antioxidant, vitamin and mineral content, its consumption offers numerous health benefits. Antioxidants and minerals like Fe & Zn, the components present in black rice are responsible for reducing chronic diseases such as heart disease, cancer and diabetes, hence its use is beneficial for dietary use, which alleviate malnutrition.