The North-Eastern Rice Database (NERD) will provide detailed physicochemical properties such as morphology, proximal contents, thermal properties of rice and rice starch collected from Assam, India. The NERD database will serve several purposes for researchers and scientists working in the field of food science and technology. It can help them study the properties, characteristics, and functionalities of different types of rice starches, facilitating the development of new products and processes.
COMPONENTS OF THE DATABASE:
1. Physical parameters of the rice kernels
2. Images of rice kernels
3. Proximate nutrient contents in the rice varieties
4. Physicochemical properties starch extracted from rice: Scanning electron microscopy images (SEM) images, X-ray diffraction images (XRD), FTIR spectra images, and DSC images
5. Biochemical properties: resistant starch content in the rice varieties
These information for the first set of 24 samples are available. The NERD is a growing database where information can be added as it is obtained.
The Northeastern (NE) region of India lies in the Indo-Burma biodiversity hotspot and about 45% of the total flora of the country is found in the region. The Northeastern states of India, comprising Arunachal Pradesh, Assam, Manipur, Meghalaya, Mizoram, Nagaland, and Tripura, lies within the international boundaries of Bhutan and China in the north, Bangladesh in the southeast and Myanmar in the west. Northeast India is home to a diverse range of rice varieties. Each variety has its unique flavor and texture and is an important part of the region's culinary heritage. There are several factors that contribute to the high cultivation of rice in Northeast India including favourable climate, rich biodiversity, and cultural significance.
Starch is indeed the major component of rice that is responsible for many of its properties. Rice grains are predominantly composed of starch, which accounts for around 70-80% of the dry weight of the grain. It is a crucial component of rice that plays a significant role in its properties and cooking characteristics. Starch is a complex carbohydrate that is composed of two types of glucose polymers: amylose and amylopectin. Amylose is a linear chain of glucose molecules, while amylopectin is a branched chain of glucose molecules. The ratio of amylose to amylopectin in rice starch can vary depending on the variety of rice, but generally, rice starch contains more amylopectin than amylose. The properties of rice starch are influenced by factors such as the amylose/amylopectin ratio, molecular weight, and degree of branching. These properties, in turn, affect the texture, flavour, and cooking characteristics of rice.
Here, in this database, several rice varieties have been collected from the Northeastern (NE) region of India and characterised using several analytical techniques. Apart from the proximate constituents of the rice varieties, the complete physicochemical properties of the starch from respective rice varieties have been reported. Analytical techniques such as scanning electron microscopy (SEM), differential scanning calorimetry (DSC), X-ray diffraction (XRD), and Fourier transform infrared spectroscopy (FTIR) were used for detailed study of the rice and starch samples.
The studies were conducted at Department of Biophysics, Manipal School of Life Sciences, Manipal Academy of Higher Education, Manipal, Karnataka, India.