PRODUCTION OF DIETARY FIBRE FROM RICE STRAW WITH GOOD CHEMICAL, PHYSICAL AND INDUSTRIAL PROPERTIES, THEIR POSITIVE EFFECTS TO LOWER BLOOD LIPIDS AND SUGARS

THE BENEFICIAL EFFECTS OF DIETARY FIBER (DF) FOR HUMAN HEALTH HAVE BEEN WIDELY REPORTED WITH RECOMMENDATIONS OF CONSUMPTION RANGING FROM 21 TO 38 G DF/DAY. THIS HAS PROMPTED EFFORTS TO ADD DIETARY FIBER INTO FOOD PRODUCTS. HOWEVER ADDITION OF UNPROCESSED LIGNOCELLULOSE TO FOOD PRODUCTS PRODUCES LOSS OF BAKED GOODS VOLUME AND GRITTY TEXTURE. IN EGYPT, A SIGNIFICANT AMOUNT OF RICE STRAW IS BURNED ANNUALLY WHICH MAY CONTRIBUTE TO AIR POLLUTION IN THE NILE VALLEY. THE PRESENT PATENT DEALT WITH ALKALINE HYDROGEN PEROXIDE (AHP) TREATMENT OF RICE STRAW (RS) AND EXAMINATION OF THE CHEMICAL STRUCTURE AND PHYSICAL PROPERTIES OF RESULTED DF. THREE DIETS CONTAINING 5, 10% CELLULOSE AND 10% ALKALINE HYDROGEN PEROXIDE TREATED RICE STRAW (AHP-RS), WERE TESTED IN RATS TO DETERMINE THE EFFECT OF LONG-TERM CONSUMPTION (20 WK) OF AHP-TREATMENT ON THE LEVELS OF PLASMA LIPIDS AND SUGAR. THE RESULT OF THE CHEMICAL ANALYSIS SHOWED THAT AHP- TREATMENT OF RICE STRAW REDUCED 15% OF INSOLUBLE DIETARY FIBER (IDF), INCREASED 23.6% FROM SOLUBLE DIETARY FIBER (SDF) IN COMPARISON TO UNTREATED RS. WATER HOLDING CAPACITY AND OIL BINDING CAPACITY OF STRAW WERE SIGNIFICANTLY INCREASED WITH REACTION TIME. THE USE OF AHP TREATED RICE STRAW AS THE SOLE SOURCE OF FIBER IN THE DIET REDUCED SERUM CHOLESTEROL LEVEL SIGNIFICANTLY (P<0.05) IN RATS. ALSO, FEEDING RATS WITH 10% CELLULOSE DIET OR 10% AHP-RS IN THE DIET CAUSED A SIGNIFICANT REDUCTION IN PLASMA GLUCOSE LEVEL COMPARED WITH 5% CELLULOSE DIET. THIS STUDY INDICATES THAT AHP-TREATMENT IMPROVES THE LIGNOCELLULOSE MATERIALS OF RICE STRAW FIBERS, PRODUCING A GREAT IMPROVEMENT IN THEIR DF FRACTION