Nutritive value of various rice based dishes in Saudi Arabia

Abstract

Chemical composition and nutritional quality of eight Saudi dishes based on rice were investigated. On a fresh weight basis, the dishes contained 59.6–71.8% moisture, 2.5–4.7% protein (N×6.25), 1.2–5.4% fat, 20.4–32.1% carbohydrates, 0.1–1.7% dietary fibre, 0.5–1.7% ash and 124–165kcals (metabolizable energy) per 100g dish. Among vitamins, vitamin A (Retinol Equivalent) ranged from 0–900μg, thiamin 0.02–0.10 mg, riboflavin 0.01–0.64mg and vitamin C 0.22–1.26mg/100g. The mineral contents (mg/100g) were: Ca 0.6–125, P 26–101, Fe 0.2–1.2, Na 1–446 and K 24–150. The dishes contributed 7–12%, 8–28% and 60–84% of the total food energy from protein, fat and carbohydrate respectively. The average per caput consumption of rice dishes (160g/day) could meet 11% and 10% of daily energy and protein requirements respectively of the Saudi population at the national level. However, the dishes were adequate to meet the protein requirements of various age groups when compared with protein energy ratios (PE%). Because of their nutritional quality, rice based dishes may be recommended for the management of some diet related chronic diseases. Key words: Saudi Arabian dishesrice based dietsnutrient compositionnutritional quality Notes Corresponding author.