Development of Ready-to-Eat Color Rice Product Enriched With Natural Amino Acids

A meat-free diet and the aging society cause some of the health problems. One of that was the deficiency of some essential amino acid in the diets. Riceberry has recently been developed in Thailand. This new variety of colored rice has a dark purple seed coat containing anthocyanin which acts as an antioxidant. Similar to normal rice, riceberry lacks lysine which plays an important role in maintaining body systems through hormone release and muscle mass maintenance. To enrich ready-to-eat rice products, red bean was added as a natural amino acid source. This formulated product had higher protein and ash content, while energy, fat and carbohydrate content were not different from the control. The essential amino acid profile of the product was complete and product shelf life was 6 months with an unchanged texture. Anthocyanin and antioxidant capacity of the product decreased with storage time. This product suited a wide range of consumers and was convenient for modern lifestyles that demand healthy, ready-to-eat foodstuffs.