Skip to main content
ARS Home » Southeast Area » Stuttgart, Arkansas » Dale Bumpers National Rice Research Center » Research » Publications at this Location » Publication #343831
Title: Variation in levels of the flavone tricin in bran from rice genotypes varying in pericarp color

Author
item POULEV, ALEXANDER - Rutgers University
item Chen, Ming Hsuan
item CHERRAVURU, SAMVITHA - Rutgers University
item RASKIN, ILYA - Rutgers University
item BELANGER, FAITH - Rutgers University

Submitted to: Journal of Cereal Science
Publication Type: Peer Reviewed Journal
Publication Acceptance Date: 11/2/2017
Publication Date: 11/7/2017
Citation: Poulev, A., Chen, M., Cherravuru, S., Raskin, I., Belanger, F.C. 2017. Variation in levels of the flavone tricin in bran from rice genotypes varying in pericarp color. Journal of Cereal Science. 79:226-232.

Interpretive Summary: The tricin is a flavonoid compound and has recently been shown to have numerous health benefits including anticancer activity. Tricin is found in many plant species including rice. Various parts of the rice plant contain tricin including rice hulls, leaves, bran and germ. There are only a few reports of tricin levels in rice bran, mainly from brown bran rice varieties. Here we report the tricin content in brans of twenty rice varieties of light brown, brown, red, and purple color. There was a wide range in tricin levels among the samples. Overall, the rice varieties with purple bran had higher levels of tricin. Various health benefits of purple rice bran have been reported. Tricin along with well known anthocyanins might be two critical bioactive compounds in purple rice bran that have health benefit.

Technical Abstract: The flavone tricin has recently been shown to have numerous health benefits and has been proposed as a safe candidate for clinical trials of cancer prevention. One dietary source of tricin is rice bran. Rice bran, which is removed from polished rice, consists of the pericarp, testa, and aleurone (the outer layers of the seed) and the embryo. However, most of the rice consumed throughout the world (white rice) has the bran portion removed, and the remaining starchy endosperm has only negligible levels of tricin. There are only a few reports of tricin levels in rice bran, mainly from brown pericarp rice genotypes. Here we report the tricin content, as well as some additional flavonoid components, of twenty rice bran samples from genotypes with light brown, brown, red, and purple pericarp coloring. There was a wide range in tricin levels among the samples. Overall, the purple pericarp genotypes had higher levels of tricin, as well as a broader range of flavonoid types. This is the first report of the flavone tricin in purple pericarp genotypes, which are well known for their anthocyanin pigments.