Rice bran oil (RBO) is obtained through extraction of rice bran which is a by-product of the rice milling industries. There are several techniques used for the extraction of the RBO, but solvent extraction using hexane is the most popular used conventional method for commercial extraction.
How is RBO extracted from rice bran?
The Japanese were the first to extract RBO from rice bran using the hydraulic press technique, which is still used nowa-days, but recently, the preferred industrial technique for com-mercial uses is extraction using non-polar solvents, such as hexane .
What is rice bran oil?
Rice bran contains up to 25% of rice bran oil (RBO), depend-ing on the rice variety, milling process, and stabilization sys-tem. RBO is produced and consumed in great quantities in Asian countries, such as India, Japan, China, Korea, Taiwan, Thailand, and Indonesia.
What is rice bran used for?
This by-product represents around 9% of all milled rice, and it is full of nutritional and bioactive compounds, but despite these positive proprieties, it is usually wasted or used for animal feeds. Rice bran is particularly rich in oil, which is generally extracted by means of mechanical pressing or or-ganic solvent extraction.