Property of Physical, Chemical, and Biological on Brown Rice Quality

Physical Property

The physical properties of brown rice depend on size, shape, color, density, bulk density, chalkiness,
weight, hardness, smoothness and moisture content so forth. Grain appearance is referred to shape and
size of brown rice, especially length and width that both unit is mm. According to Bhattacharya et al.,
1972 the length between paddy and milled rice is 6.14-10.8 and 3.99-7.6. Color of milled rice is
generally white bright, and the color of paddy is yellow or golden, however the shade of brown rice is
brown, actually even dark for brown rice. Density is referred to the ratio of mass and volume, inhere the
density is marked d and unit g/ml that represent for paddy and milled rice, both density is 1.174-1.19
g/ml and 1.444-1.456 g/ml (Bhattacharya et al., 1972). Chalkiness is opaque of brown rice that it affected
by chemical and physical properties, and its environment, the chalky grain is divided into four type (a)
white centre or white core, (b) white belly, (c) milky white and (d) opaque, and the measurement of
grain chalkiness is determined by Grain Quality Tester (Ikehashi and Khush 1979).

Chemical Property

Carbohydrate is presented in starch form of brown rice, we preferred to amylose and amylopectin in
brown rice, and weight of amylose and amylopectin is 25–50% and 30-60%, the measurement of these
form is dependent upon iodine absorption tested by iodine colorimeter (Xie et al. 2008). Protein is play
a key role to support our bodies for living and there is protein in brown rice about 60% (Tanaka et al.
1980). Minerals in brown rice are including K, Mg, Ca, and Mn, Na, Zn, Fe, Al, and Cu with the mean
value 2.4, 1.1, 0.1 g/kg and 41, 20, 16, 13, 13, and 4 mg/kg analyzed by ICP (Marr et al., 1995).

Biological Property

Microbial was associated with brown rice, especially germinated brown rice is good condition
that microbial growth faster in a certain duration if we cannot improper soaking , because in
this case it invites micro flora around the environment to growth in soaking brown rice.
However the quality of microbial in brown rice and germinated brown rice are divided into two
which one is beneficial and harmful, the beneficial of microbial in germinated brown rice such
as lactic acid bacteria, Weissella confusa, Pediococcus pentosaceus, and Lactobacillus fermentum (Kim
et al., 2012), and the harmful of microbial such as Bacillus sp. (Ankolekar et al., 2009), B. cereus (Sarrias
et al., 2002), E. coli, and Coliform counts (Lee et al., 2007).