Relationship between fatty acid composition and starch properties of 30 <i>japonica</i> rice cultivars

Abstract

Abstract Background and objectives Although lipids are less abundant than carbohydrates and proteins in rice, they are important because they contribute to its nutritional, sensory, and functional qualities. In a previous study, we developed novel estimation formulae for starch properties on the basis of the iodine absorption curve or the pasting properties. The objectives of the present research are to characterize the fatty acid compositions of the various rice cultivars and to develop the estimation formulae for fatty acid contents based on the pasting properties. Findings We found that high degree of polymerization of amylopectin cultivars showed a high Pt, and a higher degree of unsaturated fatty acid ( USF ) (20:0, 20:1, 22:0 and 24:0) and low CD of amylopectin samples showed a high linoleic and linolenic acid content, while that of Pt and Cons showed a low value. Conclusions We developed novel estimation formulae for oleic and linoleic acid content based on pasting properties, and these equations showed determination coefficients ( R 2 ) of 0.75, and 0.68 for calibration and 0.65, and 0.76 for the validation test, respectively. Significance and novelty These formulae would be useful to select the promising rice cultivars in terms of biofunctionality, such as prevention of lifestyle diseases.