Ruta Vaitkeviciene

In this study, water extracts from fermented (F), ultrasonicated (US), and enzyme-hydrolyzed (E) rice bran (RB) were evaluated against sixteen fungal plant stem and root-rot-associated pathogens. The effects of pre-treated RB additives on plant growth substrate (PGS) on bean and tomato seed germination, stem height and root length of seedlings, and chlorophyll concentration in plants were analyzed. The results showed that US-assisted pre-treatments did not affect protein content in RB, while 36 h semi-solid fermentation (SSF) reduced protein content by 10.3–14.8%. US initiated a 2.9- and 2-fold increase in total sugar and total phenolics (TPC) contents compared to the untreated RB (3.89 g/100 g dw and 0.61 mg GAE/g dw, respectively). Lactic acid (19.66–23.42 g/100 g dw), acetic acid (10.54–14.24 g/100g dw), propionic acid (0.40–1.72 g/100 g dw), phenolic compounds (0.82–1.04 mg GAE/g dw), among which phenolic acids, such as p-coumaric, cinnamic, sinapic, vanillic, and ferulic, were detected in the fermented RB. The RB_F extracts showed the greatest growth-inhibition effect against soil-born plant pathogens, such as Fusarium, Pythium, Sclerotinia, Aspergillus, Pseudomonas, and Verticillium. Beans and tomatoes grown in RB_US+E- and RB_F-supplemented PGS increased the germination rate (14–75%), root length (21–44%), and stem height (25–47%) compared to seedlings grown in PGS. The RB additives increased up to 44.6–48.8% of the chlorophyll content in both plants grown under greenhouse conditions. The results indicate that the biological potential of rice-milling waste as a plant-growth-promoting substrate component can be enhanced using solid-state fermentation with antimicrobial LABs and US processing.

In this study, the optimization of ultrasound (US) (850 kHz, 120 W) processing parameters (temperature, time, and power) for the enhanced production of resistant starch (RS) in rice bran (RB) matrixes was performed. The effect of US cavitation at different temperatures on the morphology, physicochemical properties, and mechanical performance of RS was evaluated. Ultrasonication at 40–70 °C temperatures affected the chemical structure, reduced the crystallinity of RS from 23.85% to between 18.37 and 4.43%, and increased the mechanical and thermal stability of RS pastes, indicating a higher tendency to retrograde. US treatment significantly (p < 0.05) improved the oil (OAC) and water (WAC) absorption capacities, swelling power (SP), solubility (WS), and reduced the least-gelation concentration (LGC). The mathematical evaluation of the data indicated a significant effect (p < 0.05) of the US parameters on the production of RS. The largest increment of RS (13.46 g/100 g dw) was achieved with US cavitation at 1.8 W/cm² power, 40.2 °C temperature, and 18 min of processing time. The developed method and technology bring low-temperature US processing of rice milling waste to create a new sustainable food system based on modified rice bran biopolymers.