Development of red-rice-based foods for neuroprotection against environmental stressors

Neurodegenerative diseases (NDDs), including Alzheimer’s and Parkinson’s, are marked by progressive loss of neuronal function, driven by oxidative stress and environmental factors. They represent a critical global health challenge due to their rising prevalence and limited treatment options. This thesis investigates the potential of red rice (Oryza sativa L.) and its derivative products as functional or nootropic foods to mitigate NDD progression. A novel analytical method was developed to identify and quantify terpenes, bioactive compounds with significant neuroprotective potential. Red rice was thoroughly characterized by its functional and nootropic properties and used to create red rice-based cookies, designed to enhance palatability while retaining neuroprotective compounds. Validation studies were performed using mouse hippocampal and neuron-like HT22 cells as well as differentiated SH-SY5Y human neuroblastoma cells to evaluate the neuroprotective effects of red rice and its products under environmental stressors. The findings show that red rice and its cookie derivatives enhanced cell viability, reduced reactive oxygen species (ROS), and increased glutathione (GSH) levels. Mechanistic studies linked these neuroprotective effects to the Keap1/Nrf2/Prx1 pathway in both non-differentiated and neuron-like differentiated HT22 cells. While differentiated SH-SY5Y cells did not show significant viability improvement, red rice and cookie extracts preserved neurite length, branching, and structural integrity under stress. Notably, cookie extracts retained 25–45% of bioactive compounds after processing and exhibited antioxidant and neuroprotective properties. The research concludes that red rice-based functional foods offer high potential as dietary interventions to prevent or delay the progression of NDDs. It also underscores the potential of underutilized crops like red rice in addressing global health challenges and highlights the value of integrating bioactive compounds into functional food products. Further studies are needed to enhance ingredient retention during preparation and validate health benefits in appropriate models.