Comprehensive nutritional profile of biofortified and non-biofortified rice subjected to processing and different degrees of milling

Biofortification of rice is an effective method to eliminate the plethora of micronutrient deficiency. Milling and parboiling could affect the potential advantage of biofortified rice. Therefore, the present study was carried out to evaluate the effect of milling (5 %, 10 %, and 15 % DOM) on comprehensive nutritional profile, morphology of non-parboiled and parboiled biofortified (BF) as well as non-biofortified (NBF) rice. Scanning electron micrographic observation showed alteration in morphology and crystalline structure of rice. Milling significantly affected nutrients at 15 % DOM. However, nutrients were well retained in parboiled brown and parboiled milled (PM) rice and exhibited better glycemic response. Pressure cooking of rice did not have substantial effect on nutrient content but increased the starch digestibility of rice. In addition to this, retention of Fe in cooked PM rice was high (63–86 %) as compared to non-parboiled milled (NPM) rice (48–79 %). In most of the varieties, zinc retention in cooked PM rice was less than NPM rice at 15 % DOM. The study will help to optimize the degree of milling in BF rice for better nutrient retention particularly, iron and zinc in cooked rice, thereby maximizing nutritional benefits to address hidden hunger.