Rice bran oil: Composition, production, nutrition, and utilization

Rice is generally not thought of as a source of edible oil. However, rice bran contains between 15 and 20% oil. Efforts began about 50 years ago to enhance the value of rice bran by recovering the oil captured during milling. Initial efforts began with the objective of recovering the oil and investigating its use in conventional foods. More recent work on the nutritional properties of this cereal oil has shown significant positive attributes in reducing serum cholesterol. Cholesterol reduction has been associated with the minor constituents present in rice oil. This low-cost oil behaves similar to peanut oil in frying applications and may be used in various food applications as well as in animal feeds and industrial products.