Phytosterols in rice bran and their health benefits

Abstract

With the continuous technological innovation in the high-value utilization of rice bran byproducts, rice bran oil retains a higher concentration of beneficial components such as a well-balanced composition of fatty acids and abundant phytosterols. This makes it a highly nutritious and healthy vegetable oil. This review provides an overview of the advancements made in separating, purifying, and processing phytosterols in rice bran oil. The review also introduces techniques for assessing the stability of rice bran oil. Moreover, the review emphasizes the nutritional value of phytosterols found in rice bran oil, highlighting their various health benefits, including their anticancer, anti-inflammatory, anti-allergic, antibacterial, cholesterol-lowering, skin-protective, anti-obesity, anti-diabetic, neuroprotective, gastroprotective, and immune-enhancing effects. Attaining a comprehensive understanding of the research progress made in phytosterols derived from rice bran oil can offer valuable guidance for the efficient utilization of rice bran.

Phytosterols: Physiological Functions and Potential Application

“…Phytosterols have been widely used in the pharmaceutical industry due to their various physiological activities, including cholesterol-lowering, anticancer, and anti-inflammation effects [ 122 ]. Wang et al [ 123 ] investigated the targeted intracellular anticancer drug, which was self-assembled phytosterol-alginate nanoparticles mediated by folate, and phytosterols exerted a positive effect on the whole anticancer drug system.…”

Binary wax oleogels: Improving physical properties and oxidation stability through substitution of carnauba wax with beeswax

“…Considering BW as a single gelator being more effective with a lower melting point than CRW, the hypothesis is that the binary blend of CRW and BW can result in oleogels with improved mechanical, rheological, and thermal properties. RBO with a high level of mono-and poly-unsaturated fatty acids, which is considered a "healthy oil" by WHO, was chosen as the model oil phase due to its balanced fatty acid composition (0.6 saturated:1.1 monounsaturated:1 polyunsaturated fatty acids) and rich amount of phytosterols (Lai et al, 2019;Liu et al, 2023). Furthermore, in order to keep the total gelator concentration low in the binary system, a 4% w/w gelator concentration is applied, which is also the minimum gelation concentration of CRW in RBO.…”