Nutritional evaluation of rice bran oil and a blend with corn oil

Abstract

Abstract Rice bran oil (RBO) is an unconventional oil of very high potential availability in China. This study was done to evaluate the nutritional qualities of RBO and a blend with corn oil. The effect of these oils on serum lipids and lipid peroxidation was investigated in growing chickens. The response parameters were total cholesterol, triglycerides, high density lipoprotein cholesterol (HDL‐c), low density lipoprotein cholesterol (LDL‐c) and lipid peroxidation. Others were feed efficiency and growth in chickens. The chemical parameters of oil constituents were composition of fatty acids, acid value and peroxide value. The results indicated that the gain in body weight and the feed efficiency ratio did not show a significant difference with chickens fed RBO or corn oil (CO) or blended oil (BO), CO‐fed animals exhibited a low level of lipid peroxidation. There is no significant difference in total serum cholesterol and HDL‐c levels between RBO‐ and CO‐fed animals. The experiment indicated that serum triglycerides and LDL‐c are lower in BO‐fed than in RBO‐ or CO‐fed animals. The results suggest that P/S ratio of various edible oils had no consistent correlation with the responses of serum lipids, and that rice bran oil has a nutritional quality similar to that of CO. Chemical analyses showed that the blend of RBO with CO and antioxidant vitamin E (0.03%, wt/wt oil) reduced the acid and peroxide value. Thus, the nutritional value of RBO may be enhanced by blending it with CO and fortifying it with vitamin E.