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Effect of Drying Temperature on Drying Characteristics

and Quality of Germinated Rices Prepared from Paddy
and Brown Rice
a

Thatchapol Chungcharoen , Somkiat Prachayawarakorn , Somchart Soponronnarit &

Patcharee Tungtrakul

Division of Energy Technology, School of Energy, Environment and Materials, King Mongkut's
University of Technology Thonburi, Bangkok, Thailand
b

Department of Chemical Engineering, Faculty of Engineering, King Mongkut's University of

Technology Thonburi, Bangkok, Thailand
c

Institute of Food Research and Product Development, Kasetsart University, Bangkok,

Thailand
Version of record first published: 20 Nov 2012.

To cite this article: Thatchapol Chungcharoen, Somkiat Prachayawarakorn, Somchart Soponronnarit & Patcharee Tungtrakul
(2012): Effect of Drying Temperature on Drying Characteristics and Quality of Germinated Rices Prepared from Paddy and
Brown Rice, Drying Technology: An International Journal, 30:16, 1844-1853
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Drying Technology, 30: 18441853, 2012

Copyright # 2012 Taylor & Francis Group, LLC
ISSN: 0737-3937 print=1532-2300 online
DOI: 10.1080/07373937.2012.692744

Effect of Drying Temperature on Drying Characteristics

and Quality of Germinated Rices Prepared from Paddy
and Brown Rice
Thatchapol Chungcharoen,1 Somkiat Prachayawarakorn,2
Somchart Soponronnarit,1 and Patcharee Tungtrakul3

Downloaded by [Cornell University] at 09:09 27 November 2012

Division of Energy Technology, School of Energy, Environment and Materials, King Mongkuts
University of Technology Thonburi, Bangkok, Thailand
2
Department of Chemical Engineering, Faculty of Engineering, King Mongkuts University of
Technology Thonburi, Bangkok, Thailand
3
Institute of Food Research and Product Development, Kasetsart University,
Bangkok, Thailand

Kernel ssuring generally occurs during the germination and

drying processes when germinated rice is conventionally prepared
from brown rice. Fermentation also occurs during germination.
These problems result in a product of lower quality. As an alternative, germinated rice may be prepared from paddy. In this work, a
comparative evaluation of the drying characteristics and quality of
germinated rice prepared from paddy (GP) and brown rice (GBR)
was conducted. The experimental results showed that GP had
advantages over GBR; that is, it led to a product with higher
c-aminobutyric acid (GABA) content, a smaller number of ssured
kernels, and a smaller number of attached microorganisms during
both the germination and drying steps. The required germination
time for the GP was also signicantly shorter. More important,
sensory analysis results revealed that the overall acceptability of
cooked GP was higher than that of cooked GBR.
Keywords Fluidized bed drying; GABA; Germination; Sensory
analysis

INTRODUCTION
Consumers are increasingly interested in healthy foods.
Among the wide variety of such food products, germinated
brown rice (GBR) is of interest because it is rich in nutrients, including c-aminobutyric acid (GABA), inositols,
ferulic acid, phytic acid, tocotrienols, magnesium, potassium, zinc, c-oryzanol, and prolylendopeptidase inhibitor.[1]
GABA is one of the most interesting compounds in germinated rice because it functions as the principle inhibitory
neurotransmitter in the mammalian central nervous
system.[2,3] GABA also has other health advantages, viz.
Correspondence: Somkiat Prachayawarakorn, Department of
Chemical Engineering, Faculty of Engineering, King Mongkuts
University of Technology Thonburi, 126, Pracha Uthit Road,
Bang Mod, Thung khru, Bangkok 10140, Thailand; E-mail:
somkiat.pra@kmutt.ac.th

its ability to prevent cancer cell proliferation, reduce

stresses in the brain, and prevent chronic alcohol-related
diseases.[46]
Germinated rice is conventionally produced by steeping
brown rice grains in water for a certain period of time to
promote germination. Then it is treated with steam to eliminate microorganisms and dried in a cabinet dryer to a
moisture content of 16% (db). Recently, a uidized bed
was used to dry GBR[7]; Srisang et al.[7] reported that the
steaming step can be eliminated because the number of
microorganisms remaining on the surface of GBR is less
than 104 colony-forming units (CFU)=g, which is a safe
level for food. Their work showed that the GBR process
can be reduced by neglecting the steaming step and the processing time can be decreased signicantly compared to
conventional processes. The disadvantage of this drying
technique when applied to dry GBR is that severe kernel
cracking kernels occurs, and when cracked kernels are
cooked they have a poor shape and poor textural properties. To alleviate cracking problems, the evaporation rate
of moisture from GBR during drying should be limited.
One possible method of limiting the moisture evaporation
rate is by increasing the diffusion resistance.[8,9] To
accomplish this, the germination of rice is prepared in the
form of paddy instead of brown rice. This germination
method, in which the kernels are soaked in water, may also
reduce the number of cracked kernels because the rate of
water absorption is limited due to low stress formation.[10]
In addition, it is more effective in reducing fermentation
because the grain husks decrease the proliferation of undesirable microorganisms on the outer surface of the brown
rice. These microorganisms cause fermentation, leading
to an unpleasant odor in germinated brown rice.[11]

1844

QUALITY OF GERMINATED RICE

The objective of this work was to comparatively investigate the effect of uidized bed drying temperature on the
drying characteristics and quality of germinated rice prepared from paddy (GP) and brown rice (GBR). Assessment
of the dried germinated rice quality was considered in terms
of the textural properties after cooking, GABA content,
cracked kernels, the number of microorganisms on the
surface of germinated rice, as well as the sensory results of
the cooked products.

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MATERIALS AND METHODS

Materials
Chai Nat 1 rice obtained from the Rice Department, Chai
Nat, Thailand, was used in this study. The rice was harvested
in July 2010 and had already been stored for 3 months. The
initial moisture content of the rice was about 12% (db).
Steeping Time Determination
Paddy and brown rice, which was dehusked by a hulling
machine (model no. P-1, Ngek Seng Huat Ltd., Part,
Bangkok, Thailand) were steeped in water at 35
C for 24,
36, 48, 60, and 72 h; the water was changed every 4 h. At each
steeping time a sample was taken out for determination of the
number of germinated rice; the result was reported as the
percentage of germination. The time that provided the highest
percentage of germination was selected for subsequent study.
Preparation of Dried Germinated Rice
The germinated rice, prepared from both paddy and
brown rice, was dried in a batch uidized bed dryer, which
is shown schematically in Fig. 1. The drying system
consisted of a stainless steel cylindrical drying chamber,
20 cm in diameter and 140 cm in height; a 12-kW heater,

FIG. 1. Schematic diagram of hot air uidized bed dryer.

1845

which was controlled by a proportionalintegralderivative

(PID) controller with an accuracy of  1
C; and a
backward-curved blade centrifugal fan driven by a
1.5-kW motor. The drying conditions were as follows: inlet
drying air temperatures of 90, 110, 130, and 150
C; a bed
height of 10 cm; and a supercial air velocity of 3.5 m=s;
the exhaust air was recycled at 80%.
Two kilograms of germinated rice was dried in each experiment. Drying was conducted for 2, 4, 6, 8, 10, 12, or 14 min.
After the predetermined drying time had been reached the
experiment was terminated and the whole sample was taken
out for moisture content determination. A new experiment
was then conducted up to the next predetermined drying time.
These steps were repeated until the whole drying curve was
obtained at each drying air temperature.
To prepare the control sample, germinated rice was
shade-dried in ambient air until the moisture content
reached 1315% (db).
For the determination of thermally treated germinated
rice quality, a sample dried to a moisture content of 22%
(db) was tempered by keeping it in a closed jar for 30 min.
This tempering time was enough to obtain the uniform
moisture content, as reported by Poomsa-ad et al.[12] The
control temperature during the tempering step was set at
the temperature of the kernels exiting from the dryer. Subsequently, the tempered sample was ventilated with ambient air
until the moisture content reached 1315% (db). The sample
was kept in cold storage at 46
C until further analysis.
GABA Content Determination
The GABA content was determined by the method
proposed by Lin and Wang.[13] A germinated rice sample
was rst pulverized by an ultra-centrifugal mill (model no.
ZM 100, Restch, Hann, Germany) and sieved using a
120-mesh screen corresponding to a particle size of 125 mm.
Then 0.5 g of germinated rice our was mixed with 1.8 mL
water and 200 mL sulfosalicylic acid; the solution was thoroughly mixed by a vortex mixer (model no. G560E, Vortex
Mixer Scientic Industries, New York, USA). Thereafter,
the content was centrifuged at 4,200 rpm for 10 min and the
supernatant was separated. The remaining solution was used
for GABA determination via high-performance liquid chromatography (HPLC; Agilent 1100 Series, Agilent Technologies, Palo Alto, CA) equipped with a Supelcosil-LC-DABS
4.6 mm i.d.  150 mm column. Acetonitrile was used as the
mobile phase with a ow rate of 1 mL=min. The injection volume was 5 mL. The column temperature was set at 35
C and
the ultraviolet detector was set at 465 nm. The GABA content
was reported as the average value of three replications.
Textural Properties Determination
The textural properties of cooked germinated rice were
measured by a texture analyzer (TA.XT Plus, Stable Micro
Systems, Surrey, UK). Twenty-ve grams of germinated

1846

CHUNGCHAROEN ET AL.

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rice kernels without any cracks was cooked in a moisture

can by steaming using a rice-to-water ratio of about 1:2.
The sample was then cooled to room temperature for 1 h.
Twelve cooked rice kernels were arranged in two rows
and placed under a cylindrical probe with a diameter of
50 mm. The kernels were compressed at a pretest speed of
1 mm=s and posttest speed of 10 mm=s. The hardness value
was dened as the maximum compressive force at 85%
strain.
Kernel Fissures Determination
About 100 kernels were randomly chosen. Fissured
kernels were visually inspected by sorting out the cracked
kernels under a uorescent lamp. The data are presented
as the percentage of ssured kernels. Inspection of a sample
from each drying condition was performed in triplicate and
the average value was reported.
Microbiological Populations Determination
Microbiological populations examined in this work
included bacteria, yeast, and molds. The culture media
for bacteria population determination consisted of 5 g
tryptone, 2.5 g yeast extract, 1 g dextrose, 15 g agar, and
1 L distilled water. Twelve to 15 mL of agar was poured
onto each of the three plates. The plates were sterilized in
an autoclave at 121
C for 15 min and cooled to 45  1
C.
A 50-g our sample obtained from grinding germinated
rice was mixed with 450 mL Butterelds phosphatebuffered dilution water in a blender jar for 2 min. Then,
1 mL of the mixed solution was poured onto the three
plates. The plates were cooled until they hardened. Each
plate was turned over and incubated at 35
C for 48  2 h.
For the determination of mold and yeast populations,
1520 mL dichloran rose bengal chloramphenical (DRBC)
agar was used as a culture. The germinated rice our was
dissolved in Butterelds phosphate-buffered dilution water
in a blender jar for 2 min and 0.1 mL of the solution was
poured onto three DRBC plates and incubated at 25
C
for 57 days. After incubation, the colony was counted
and the results were expressed in CFU=g. The number of
microorganisms was reported as the average value of three
replications.
Scanning Electron Microscopy
The morphology of starch granules was examined by a
scanning electron microscope (model no. JSM-5410LV,
JEOL, Tokyo, Japan). A germinated rice our sample
was prepared in a similar manner as for GABA content
determination. The rice our was dispersed as a monolayer
on a specimen stub with double-sided sticky tape. The
sample was then coated with gold and examined at an
accelerating voltage of 15 kV. One micrograph was taken
for each sample at 5,000  magnication.

Differential Scanning Calorimetry

The thermal properties of rice our were investigated
using a differential scanning calorimeter (DSC; model no.
DSC-7, Perkin Elmer, Norwalk, CT). A sample was ground
into powder using the ultra-centrifugal mill and sieved
through a 0.25-mm screen. A 3-mg our sample was put
in an aluminum pan and mixed with 10 mL distilled water;
the pan was then hermetically sealed and kept at room temperature for 1 h. Finally, the pan was heated from 40 to
120
C at a rate of 10
C=min. Each test was carried out with
an empty pan as a reference. The major parameters of the
DSC proles, dened as the onset temperature of gelatinization (To), peak temperature (Tp), gelatinization temperature
at conclusion (Tc), and transition enthalpy (DH), were
recorded. The degree of starch gelatinization (SG) was
calculated by the following equation:
SG 1  DH=DHc   100
where DH is the transition enthalpy of dried germinated rice
(J=g dry matter) and DHc is the transition enthalpy of
shade-dried germinated rice (J=g dry matter).
X-Ray Diffractometry
X-ray diffraction analysis was performed using an X-ray
diffractometer (model no. D8 Discover, Bruker AXS
GmbH, Karlsruhe, Germany) to determine the type of crystalline structure and degree of rice starch crystallinity. A
sample was prepared in a similar manner as for GABA content analysis. A 0.5-g our sample was placed into a sample
holder in the diffractometer operated in transmission mode
with a Cu-anode source (CuKa -radiation of wavelength
k 1.54 A
) at 40 kV and 40 mA. The X-ray diffraction
pattern was recorded at angles (2h) from 0 to 40
. The
degree of crystallinity (Xc) of a sample was calculated by
the following equation:
Xc Ac =Aa Ac   100
where Ac and Aa are the areas of crystalline and amorphous
regions, respectively.
Sensory Evaluation
Prior to sensory evaluation, a rice sample was cleaned
and cooked in an electric cooker (model no. KSH-215,
Sharp, Nakhon Pathom, Thailand). The cooked sample
was removed from the cooker with a ladle and placed in
a well-insulated container in order to avoid retrogradation.
Twenty trained panelists from the Institute of Food
Research and Product Development, Kasetsart University,
Thailand, were invited to evaluate the cooked rice samples.
The sample was served to the panelists, who were kept
separate from each other in order to avoid communication
during the evaluation. Water was provided for the panelists

QUALITY OF GERMINATED RICE

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to clean their palettes after tasting each sample. The quality

of cooked rice was evaluated in terms of appearance, odor,
taste and texture using a scale of 19, where 1 dislike
extremely, 2 dislike very much, 3 dislike moderately,
4 dislike slightly, 5 neither like nor dislike, 6 like
slightly, 7 like moderately, 8 like very much, and
9 like extremely.
Statistical Analysis
Quality analysis data including the GABA content, percentage of ssured kernels, textural properties of cooked
rice, number of microorganisms, and sensory evaluation
results were analyzed by one-way analysis of variance.
All experiments were done in triplicate except when specied otherwise and the results are reported as mean values
with standard deviations. Duncans multiple range test
was used to establish differences among mean values at a
condence level of 95%. All statistical calculations were
performed using SPSS software, version 14.
RESULTS AND DISCUSSION
Percentage of Germination
The percentage of germination of GP and GBR is
shown in Fig. 2. The germination curves for both GBR
and GP had a similar pattern in that the percentage of
germination slowly increased during the rst 24 h. The
percentage of germination was approximately 1519% at
the early period of germination and then rapidly increased
to approximately 95%; a further increase in the percentage
of germination was not possible because some of the rice
kernels were imperfect. To obtain 95% germinated kernels
required 60 h for GP and 72 h for GBR; at these times, the

FIG. 2. Comparison of percentage of germination for germinated rice

prepared from paddy and brown rice (color gure available online).

1847

length of buds grown from the embryo was about

0.52 mm. The shorter germinating time required for
paddy is due to the fact that minerals required for germination such as nitrogen, phosphorus, and magnesium that
accumulate in the hull were still not removed.[14] Moreover,
all parts of the dormant seed for paddy were still intact.
Drying Characteristics
Figure 3 shows the changes in moisture content of GP
and GBR during drying. Prior to drying (after germination),
GP and GBR had an initial moisture content of 54  1.35%
(db). When the germinated rice was dried, the moisture content rapidly decreased in the early period of drying; the drying rates of GP and GBR during the rst 2 min were the
same. This may be due to the fact that the moisture existing
in the samples at this initial stage was mostly on the sample
surface, so the moisture could rapidly vaporize, leading to
similar drying rates irrespective of the type of sample. However, after this period, the drying rates differed, with GP
exhibiting a lower drying rate than GBR at all drying temperatures. The lower drying rates of GP were due to the
husk, which retarded the diffusion of moisture from the
inside to the grain surface. The drying time for GP was
5075% longer in the temperature range studied.
GABA Contents
Table 1 shows the GABA contents of GP and GBR after
drying at different temperatures. The GABA content of
Chai Nat 1 brown rice was about 4.2  0.3 mg=100 g brown
rice, which was signicantly higher than that of Kao Dok
Mali 105 brown rice; that is, 2.7  0.2 mg=100 g brown rice,

FIG. 3. Drying curves of GP and GBR at different drying temperatures

(color gure available online).

1848

CHUNGCHAROEN ET AL.

TABLE 1
GABA contents of germinated rice produced at different
drying temperatures

Sample
Brown rice
(reference)

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Germinated paddy
(GP)

Germinated
brown rice (GBR)

Temperature
(
C)

GABA content
(mg=100 g
brown rice, db)

4.2  0.3a

Shade drying
90
110
130
150
Shade drying
90
110
130
150

27.3  0.4c
26.9  0.4c
26.7  1.3c
26.1  0.8c
25.9  1.2c
22.8  1.3b
22.2  1.0b
22.0  0.8b
21.8  1.1b
21.5  0.6b

a,b,c

Means with different superscripts in the same column are

signicantly different (p < 0.05).

as reported by Srisang et al.[7] The greater amount of

GABA observed in the present study may be related to
the different rice varieties.[15]
After germination the GABA contents of the shade-dried
GP and GBR increased to 27.3  0.4 mg=100 g brown rice
and 22.8  1.3 mg=100 g brown rice, respectively. The
GABA contents of the germinated samples increased by
5.46.5 times compared to those of brown rice. The greater
amount of GABA in the germinated samples can be
explained by the fact that the hydrolytic enzymes such as
a -amylase and b-amylase decomposed the high-molecularweight polymers, leading to the generation of biofunctional
substances, which resulted in the increase of GABA.[5,16]
As shown in Table 1, the germination process signicantly affected the GABA content; the GABA content of
GP was about 19.7221.36%, which was higher than that
of GBR. This result was similar to that reported by
Moongngarm and Saetung,[17] who observed higher GABA
contents when germinated rice was prepared from paddy.
The higher content of GABA in GP is due to the minerals
accumulated in the hull. The higher mineral content in GP
provided greater enzyme activity within the seeds and
contained higher levels of bioactive compounds, which led
to higher production of GABA.[18]
The changes in GABA contents of both germinated
samples with drying temperature in the temperature range
90150
C were insignicant. Similarly, Srisang et al.[7]
reported the insignicant effect of drying temperature on
GABA content, which conrmed that GABA is insensitive
to temperature within the range used in this study. Joen
et al.[19] reported that GABA degrades at 203
C.

Fissuring of Germinated Rice

Table 2 shows the percentage of ssured kernels after
uidized bed drying. After germination the percentage of
ssured kernels was 25.0  1.7% and 40.3  2.3% for
shade-dried GP and GBR, respectively. The ssures that
occurred on the surfaces of both samples consisted of a single crack that occurred in the cross-direction of the kernel.
The number of ssured GBR kernels was 61% higher than
the number of ssured GP kernels. The greater number of
GBR ssures is related to the rate of water absorption
during soaking. The brown rice absorbed water faster than
the paddy, which caused larger moisture gradients inside
the brown rice kernel and hence higher stresses, leading
to more ssured GBR kernels.[20] Swelling of starch may
also be another cause of the differences in the level of
ssured kernels. During soaking, starch granules swell
and their architecture is modied, leading to kernel cracking. GP swelled less than GBR because the intact husk limited the swelling of starch.
A sample was taken out of the dryer to examine the ssures when the moisture content had decreased to 22%
(db). As depicted in Table 2, the number of ssured
kernels, for both GP and GBR, when drying at 90
C was
signicantly higher than for shade-dried samples. The
increase in the number of ssured kernels was probably
due to the stresses induced by moisture gradients during
drying.[21,22] The ssures that appeared on the rice surface
at this drying temperature were in the form of multiple
cracks along the cross-direction of a kernel. The number
of ssured kernels increased by 29 and 39% in the cases
of GP and GBR, respectively. This indicates that drying
of germinated rice of paddy could lead to a reduction in
the number of ssured kernels, which would improve the
germinated rice quality, especially in terms of appearance.
The smaller number of ssured GP kernels is due to the
TABLE 2
Percentage of ssured kernels
Sample
Germinated
paddy (GP)

Germinated brown
rice (GBR)

aj

Temperature
(
C)

Percentage of
ssured kernels

Shade drying
90
110
130
150
Shade drying
90
110
130
150

25.0  1.7a
54.3  1.5e
47.0  1.0d
36.3  1.2c
31.7  1.2b
40.3  2.3j
79.7  1.2i
70.3  2.5h
57.7  1.2g
50.7  1.5f

Means with different superscripts in the same column are

signicantly different (p < 0.05).

1849

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QUALITY OF GERMINATED RICE

smaller moisture gradients and hence lower level of stresses

as a result of the lower drying rates, as shown in Fig. 3.
When the drying temperature increased to 110
C or
higher, the number of ssured kernels, for both GP and
GBR, signicantly decreased compared to that at 90
C.
As shown in Table 2, the germinated samples dried at
150
C exhibited the smallest number of ssured kernels.
These results are interesting in the sense that although
the drying rate increased with an increase in the drying
temperature, the number of ssured kernels did not
increase despite the higher moisture gradients during
high-temperature drying. Such results contradict those of
Siebenmorgen et al.,[23] who noted a larger number of ssured kernels when the drying temperature increased from
40 to 60
C. The decrease in the number of ssured kernels
at higher drying temperature implies that the kernels might
be either physically or physicochemically modied in a way
that could withstand more stresses. To prove this hypothesis, the thermal properties of the dried samples were examined; the results are presented in the next section.

FIG. 4. Scanning electron microscope photographs of rice starch granules: (a) brown rice (reference); (b) germinated rice (shade dried); (c) germinated rice dried at 90
C; (d) germinated rice dried at 110
C; (e)
germinated rice dried at 130
C; (f) germinated rice dried at 150
C.

Thermal Analysis Results

Table 3 lists the thermal properties of brown rice,
shade-dried germinated rice, and germinated rice dried at
different drying temperatures. The results indicated that
the thermal properties in terms of To, Tp, and Tc of brown
rice and germinated rice (GP and GBR) after shade drying
were quite different. The values of To, Tp, and Tc for the
shade-dried samples were lower than those of brown rice,
indicating a lower enthalpy for germinated rice than for
brown rice. However, the enthalpy of GP was not different
from that of GBR. This indicated that germination affected
the thermal properties of rice due to the differences in the
microstructure of the starch granules. As can be seen in
Fig. 4, the starch granules of the brown rice sample were

tightly packed, whereas those of the germinated rice samples were loosely packed, thus allowing the starch to be
gelatinized more easily. Musa et al.[24] also reported that
the transition temperature of germinated rice was lower
than that of brown rice.
After drying, the thermal properties of GP and GBR
changed such that the transition temperature increased as
the drying temperature increased; the transition enthalpy,
on the other hand, decreased. This clearly indicated the
modication of starch thermal properties (implying starch
gelatinization) during drying. During the process of gelatinization, the amylose molecules leach out of the micellar
network, resulting in strong intermolecular binding forces

TABLE 3
Thermal analysis results of dried germinated rice our
Transition temp. of the rst peak (
C)
Sample

Temperature (
C)

Brown rice (Reference)

Shade drying
90
110
130
150
Shade drying
90
110
130
150

Germinated paddy
(GP)

Germinated brown
rice (GBR)

To1

Tp1

Tc1

DH (J=g)

SG (%)

77.0  0.2
75.9  0.1
76.4  0.4
76.8  0.5
76.9  0.3
77.5  0.6
76.1  0.0
76.8  0.1
77.1  0.1
77.5  0.1
77.7  0.1

81.1  0.2
79.7  0.1
80.2  0.6
80.5  0.6
81.0  0.4
81.2  0.1
80.0  0.2
80.8  0.2
81.5  0.0
81.9  0.5
82.2  0.4

85.5  0.4
84.1  0.1
84.5  0.5
84.8  0.0
85.2  0.2
85.7  0.0
84.4  0.1
85.1  0.2
86.0  0.2
86.8  0.1
86.9  0.1

10.2  0.4
8.3  0.8
6.6  0.7
5.1  0.6
4.5  0.5
3.6  0.4
8.7  0.9
7.6  0.8
7.0  0.8
5.7  0.7
4.8  0.6

0.0
0.0
20.95  0.78
39.20  0.71
45.85  0.49
57.25  0.92
0.0
12.45  0.21
18.80  0.42
33.75  0.92
44.35  0.64

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1850

CHUNGCHAROEN ET AL.

among granules,[25,26] hence providing a stronger kernel.

The degree of starch gelatinization depends on the drying
temperature; a higher drying temperature normally results
in a higher degree of starch gelatinization. This is because a
higher drying temperature disrupts hydrogen bonding and
causes greater fragmentation of the starch granules.[27,28]
These results could be used to clearly explain why the
number of ssured kernels decreased when drying was
conducted at a higher temperature.
As shown in Table 3, the degree of starch gelatinization
for GP and GBR was different although both samples were
dried at the same drying temperature. The higher degree of
starch gelatinization in the case of GP can be explained by
the fact that the drying rate of GP was lower than that of
GBR at the same drying temperature. The longer drying
time required rendered more available moisture inside the
kernels for more complete gelatinization. Based on these
data, the smaller number of ssured kernels in the case of
GP is most probably due to the higher degree of starch
gelatinization in addition to the lower stress formation.
Morphology of Germinated Rice
Figure 4 shows the scanning electron microscopy
photographs of germinated rice starch at different drying
temperatures. The photographs revealed that brown rice
starch granules were mainly polyhedral in shape and
ranged in size from 3 to 5 mm. The granules were densely
packed, as shown in Fig. 4a. After germination, the shape
of the starch granules was intact but their arrangement was
modied such that they were packed loosely more, as
shown in Fig. 4b. This morphology provided weaker kernel
strength, leading to more cracks during drying. When the
germinated samples were dried, changes occurred as shown
in Figs. 4c4f, especially at drying temperatures of 130 and
150
C. At these drying temperatures some starch granules
had a less well-dened polyhedral shape, with less space
between the starch granules. Such morphological changes
improved the kernel strength and resulted in a smaller
number of ssured kernels during high-temperature drying.
X-Ray Diffraction Pattern and Crystallinity
X-ray diffractograms of the brown rice, germinated rice
after shade drying (GP and GBR), and dried germinated
rice obtained at different drying temperatures are shown
in Fig. 5. For brown rice, strong peaks were observed at
2h values of 15.04, 17.1, 17.98, and 22.98
. The shade-dried
GP exhibited peaks at 15.08, 17.02, 17.96, and 23.04
, and
the strongest peaks for shade-dried GBR were at 15.08,
17.08, 18, and 23.16
. These angles are characteristic of
an A-type crystal structure.[29] The degree of A-type crystallinity, shown in Table 4, for brown rice and shade-dried
germinated rice was not different, indicating insignicant
effects of germination and the form of germinated rice on
the degree of A-type crystallinity.

FIG. 5. X-ray diffraction patterns of brown rice (reference), shade-dried

GP and GBR, and germinated rice dried at different temperatures.

When the germinated GP and GBR were dried, the relative intensity at the above-mentioned angles decreased with
an increase in the drying temperature; the corresponding
degree of A-type crystallinity decreased with an increase
in the drying temperature. These experimental data are
similar to the enthalpy data in Table 3, showing a decrease
in the enthalpy with an increase in the drying temperature.
In addition to the effect of drying temperature, the characteristics of the drying material inuenced the degree of
A-type crystallinity; GP disrupted the A-type crystal structure during drying more than GBR did, as indicated by the
lower degree of A-type crystallinity. This conrmed that
the A-type crystal structure of rice starch was disrupted
during starch gelatinization.[30]

TABLE 4
Degree of crystallinity of brown rice (reference),
shade-dried GP and GBR, and dried germinated brown
rice our produced at different drying temperatures
Sample
Brown rice (reference)
Germinated paddy
(GP)

Germinated brown
rice (GBR)

Temperature
(
C)

Degree of A-type
crystallinity (%)

Shade drying
90
110
130
150
Shade drying
90
110
130
150

17.3  0.9
16.5  0.3
12.9  0.2
10.0  0.1
9.0  0.1
7.1  0.2
17.1  0.9
15.0  0.6
13.8  0.5
11.6  0.6
10.0  0.7

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QUALITY OF GERMINATED RICE

TABLE 5
Hardness of cooked germinated rice produced at different
drying temperatures
Sample
Brown rice (reference)
Germinated paddy
(GP)

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Germinated brown
rice (GBR)

Temperature
(
C)

Shade drying
90
110
130
150
Shade drying
90
110
130
150

Hardness
(N)
a

152.1  4.3
134.7  5.8bc
137.1  4.5bc
138.7  4.2bc
140.6  5.2bc
142.4  4.9b
133.1  4.9c
135.2  5.8bc
137.4  4.6bc
138.7  4.7bc
140.1  5.1bc

a,b,c

Means with different superscripts in the same column are

signicantly different (p < 0.05).

Textural Properties
The results for hardness of germinated rice dried at
different temperatures are given in Table 5. It can be seen that
germination affected the texture of cooked rice; the hardness
of cooked shade-dried GP and GBR was signicantly lower
than that of ungerminated brown rice. This was due to the
decomposition of high-molecular-weight polymers; that is,
starch, proteins, and nonstarch polysaccharides.[31] Similarly,
Toyoshima et al.[11] reported a decrease in the hardness of
cooked germinated rice. The hardness values of shade-dried
GP and GBR were not signicantly different. When the

germinated rice samples were dried it was found that the

hardness of cooked GP and GBR tended to increase with
increased drying temperature; the statistical results, however,
showed no signicant difference in the texture.
Microbiological Results
Table 6 shows the number of bacteria, yeast, and mold
for germinated rice samples dried at different temperatures.
Brown rice had about 2  106 CFU=g of bacteria and
about 118 CFU=g of mold; no yeast was detected. After
germination the number of bacteria and mold signicantly
increased in both shade-dried germinated rice samples
compared to brown rice.
The number of microorganisms in shade-dried GP was
signicantly lower than that in shade-dried GBR. This
may be due to the fact that the steeping time of GP was
shorter and some microorganisms attached on the surface
of GP were eliminated when the husk was removed. After
drying, the amount of bacteria and mold was signicantly
decreased in both germinated rice samples compared to
shade-dried samples. The remaining amount of bacteria
in the dried samples was safe for consumption. Based on
the Thai Industrial Standards Institute, the number of bacteria should not be higher than 104 CFU=g for snacks.[32]
Sensory Evaluation Results
The physical and physicochemical properties of
shade-dried GP and GBR were evaluated and compared to
those of brown rice sample. The GP and GBR samples dried
at 150
C were also chosen for the evaluation because this
drying condition resulted in the lowest number of ssured
kernels. The results of the sensory evaluation are presented
in Table 7. The germinated rice prepared from paddy had

TABLE 6
Number of bacteria, yeast, and mold on dried germinated rice and brown rice produced at different drying temperatures
Number of microorganisms
Sample
Brown rice (reference)
Germinated paddy (GP)

Germinated brown rice (GBR)

ag

Temperature
(
C)

TPC
(CFU=g)

Shade drying
90
110
130
150
Shade drying
90
110
130
150

2.0  106  35,119a

3.5  106  41,308b
4,926  103.18d
3,250  83.37d
1,579  91.24d
1,190  48.18d
3.8  106  61,175c
8,007  159.04d
5,723  131.56d
3,461  82.56d
2,371  74.66d

Means with different superscripts in the same column are signicantly different (p <0.05).
TPC: total plate count.

Yeast
(CFU=g)
<10
<10
<10
<10
<10
<10
<10
<10
<10
<10
<10

(none)
(none)
(none)
(none)
(none)
(none)
(none)
(none)
(none)
(none)
(none)

Mold
(CFU=g)
118  6e
135  5f
<10 (none)
<10 (none)
<10 (none)
<10 (none)
163  7g
<10 (none)
<10 (none)
<10 (none)
<10 (none)

1852

CHUNGCHAROEN ET AL.

TABLE 7
Sensory evaluation results for brown rice and germinated rice produced at different drying temperatures
Conditions
Brown rice (reference)
GP (shade dried)
GBR (shade dried)
GP dried at 150
C
GBR dried at 150
C

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ae

Appearance

Odor

Taste

Texture

Overall acceptability

7.0  0.2a
6.1  0.3b
4.3  0.4c
6.5  0.5d
4.5  0.5c

6.2  0.4a
4.3  0.5b
2.3  0.4c
5.4  0.5d
3.3  0.6e

5.7  0.5a
5.2  0.5b
3.1  0.7c
5.5  0.5ab
3.1  0.6c

4.3  0.6a
5.9  0.5b
5.7  0.6b
4.6  0.5a
5.2  0.6c

5.6  0.5a
4.2  0.5b
3.4  0.5c
5.4  0.5a
4.4  0.5b

Means with different superscripts in the same column are signicantly different (p < 0.05).

higher scores for appearance, odor, and taste than the GBR;
however, the textures of cooked GP and GBR were similar.
The superior quality of the GP was a result of the lower
number of ssured kernels. GP also possessed weaker fermentation odor and better taste. In fact, some panelists
noted that the cooked GBR was quite tasteless.
Drying at 150
C could improve the appearance and
odor of GP, though the texture of the cooked rice was
poorer than that of the shade-dried sample as indicated
by the lower texture scores. This was consistent with the
harder texture of GP as indicated in Table 5. In summary,
the overall acceptability of the GP sample was greater than
that of the GBR sample and the acceptability was
improved and became close to that of brown rice when
GP was dried at 150
C.
CONCLUSIONS
Production of germinated rice from paddy (GP) was determined to be more effective than producing germinated rice
from brown rice (GBR). GP required a shorter germinating
time and had higher amounts of GABA, a smaller number
of ssured kernels, and lower numbers of attached microorganisms. However, GP required a longer drying time than
GBR. When the germinated rice samples were dried at temperatures of 90150
C, the number of ssured kernels
decreased signicantly due to starch gelatinization, as evidenced by DSC, X-ray diffraction, and rice starch morphology. The degree of gelatinization increased with
increased drying temperature; the degree of gelatinization of
dried GP was higher than that of dried GBR at the same drying temperature. The drying temperature insignicantly affected the GABA content, and this temperature range (90
150
C) reduced the number of attached microorganisms to
a safe level. From the sensory assessment, GP had a higher
overall acceptability score than GBR. High-temperature drying is a more effective method for producing GP than shade
drying because the GP dried at high temperatures had a better
appearance and weaker fermentation odor.
ACKNOWLEDGMENTS
The authors express their appreciation to the Thailand
Research Fund, through the Royal Golden Jubilee Ph.D.

Program (Grant No. PHD=0040=2552), and the National

Science and Technology Development Agency (NSTDA)
for their nancial support.
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