Enzymatic transformation of biomass: Valorization of rice bran oil and protein

The valorization of rice bran, a by-product derived from the rice productive chain, has attracted the attention of the scientific community for the production of high added-value products, because of its great availability (around 700 million tons are produced per year). The composition of rice bran is 15-22% lipids, 34-52% carbohydrates, 7-11% fibers, 8-12% moisture and 10-16% highly nutritional proteins1. The fatty fraction of rice bran is rich in bioactive phytochemicals that have antioxidant and chemopreventive properties2. Also, the protein hydrolyzates of rice bran could be used as flavor enhancers; moreover, due to their highly nutritional value and according to some studies they have a therapeutic potential2,3. It is a challenge though to hydrolyze the rice bran and achieve the selective separation of its useful components. In this work, a combined process for the transformation of rice bran through enzymatic catalysis is studied.