Riceberry ( th, ข้าวไรซ์เบอร์รี่) is a

rice Rice is the seed of the grass species ''Oryza sativa'' (Asian rice) or less commonly ''Oryza glaberrima ''Oryza glaberrima'', commonly known as African rice, is one of the two domesticated rice species. It was first domesticated and grown i ...

variety from

Thailand Thailand ( ), historically known as Siam () and officially the Kingdom of Thailand, is a country in Southeast Asia, located at the centre of the Indochinese Peninsula, spanning , with a population of almost 70 million. The country is bo ...

, a

cross-breed A crossbreed is an organism with purebred parents of two different breeds, varieties, or populations. ''Crossbreeding'', sometimes called "designer crossbreeding", is the process of breeding such an organism, While crossbreeding is used to main ...

of Jao Hom Nin (JHN, a local non-glutinous purple rice) and Khao Dawk Mali 105 ( Hom Mali rice). The variety was created in 2002 by the Rice Science Center,

Kasetsart University Kasetsart University ( th, มหาวิทยาลัยเกษตรศาสตร์; ), commonly known and referred to as Kaset or KU, is a public research university in Bangkok, Thailand. It is the largest university in Thailand. I ...

, Thailand. The outcome is a soft, deep purple

whole grain A whole grain is a grain of any cereal and pseudocereal that contains the endosperm, germ, and bran, in contrast to refined grains, which retain only the endosperm. As part of a general healthy diet, consumption of whole grains is associated w ...

rice. Riceberry has been used as a substitute for

brown rice Brown rice is a whole grain rice with the inedible outer Rice hulls, hull removed. This kind of rice sheds its outer hull or husk but the bran and germ layer remain on, constituting the brown or tan colour of rice. White rice is the same grain w ...

. In 2005, it was approved for mass cultivation and consumption. Riceberry is grown primarily in northern and

northeastern Thailand Northeast Thailand or Isan (Isan/ th, อีสาน, ; lo, ອີສານ; also written as Isaan, Isarn, Issarn, Issan, Esan, or Esarn; from Pali ''īsānna'' or Sanskrit ईशान्य ''īśānya'' "northeast") consists of 20 provin ...

. The wet season months of August through December are suitable for riceberry planting. Riceberry is distinct from traditional

black rice Black rice, also known as purple rice, is a range of rice types of the species ''Oryza sativa'', some of which are glutinous rice. There are several varieties of black rice available today. These include Indonesian black rice, Philippine heirl ...

Characteristics

Nutritional properties

Riceberry is enriched with both water-soluble—mainly

anthocyanin Anthocyanins (), also called anthocyans, are water-soluble vacuolar pigments that, depending on their pH, may appear red, purple, blue, or black. In 1835, the German pharmacist Ludwig Clamor Marquart gave the name Anthokyan to a chemical compo ...

—and

lipid Lipids are a broad group of naturally-occurring molecules which includes fats, waxes, sterols, fat-soluble vitamins (such as vitamins A, D, E and K), monoglycerides, diglycerides, phospholipids, and others. The functions of lipids include ...

soluble

antioxidant Antioxidants are compounds that inhibit oxidation, a chemical reaction that can produce free radicals. This can lead to polymerization and other chain reactions. They are frequently added to industrial products, such as fuels and lubricant ...

s, such as

carotenoid Carotenoids (), also called tetraterpenoids, are yellow, orange, and red organic compound, organic pigments that are produced by plants and algae, as well as several bacteria, and Fungus, fungi. Carotenoids give the characteristic color to pumpki ...

gamma oryzanol Gamma (uppercase , lowercase ; ''gámma'') is the third letter of the Greek alphabet. In the system of Greek numerals it has a value of 3. In Ancient Greek, the letter gamma represented a voiced velar stop . In Modern Greek, this letter re ...

, and

vitamin E Vitamin E is a group of eight fat soluble compounds that include four tocopherols and four tocotrienols. Vitamin E deficiency, which is rare and usually due to an underlying problem with digesting dietary fat rather than from a diet low in vitami ...

. The nutritional properties of riceberry are concentrated in its

bran Bran, also known as miller's bran, is the hard outer layers of Cereal, cereal grain. It consists of the combined aleurone and pericarp. Corn (maize) bran also includes the pedicel (tip cap). Along with cereal germ, germ, it is an integral pa ...

, with only a small fraction in its endosperm. This is true of all cereals, meaning that it is best to consume whole, rather than polished, grains. Riceberry has a "medium"

glycemic index The glycemic (glycaemic) index (GI; ) is a number from 0 to 100 assigned to a food, with pure glucose arbitrarily given the value of 100, which represents the relative rise in the blood glucose level two hours after consuming that food. The GI of ...

(GI=62).ศรีวัฒนา ทรงจิตสมบูรณ์ และคณะ รายงานการวิจัย โครงการบูรณาการเทคโนโลยีชีวภาพในการสร้างพันธุ์ข้าวเพื่อเพิ่มมูลค่าและคุณค่าสูง บทที่ 6 ดัชนีน้ำตาลในข้าวโภชนาการสูง. 2548. สำนักงาน คณะกรรมการวิจัยแห่งชาติ

Governmental support

The Commerce Ministry aims to increase riceberry cultivation from 5,000

rai RAI – Radiotelevisione italiana (; commercially styled as Rai since 2000; known until 1954 as Radio Audizioni Italiane) is the national public broadcasting company of Italy, owned by the Ministry of Economy and Finance. RAI operates many ter ...

to 20,000 rai (3,200 hectares) by 2018 to address in the world market demand for organic brown rice. The yield from 5,000 rai amounts to only 1,500

tonne The tonne ( or ; symbol: t) is a unit of mass equal to 1000 kilograms. It is a non-SI unit accepted for use with SI. It is also referred to as a metric ton to distinguish it from the non-metric units of the short ton ( United State ...

s. Demand for premium organic rice is still small, accounting for only one to two percent of total rice exports, but as riceberry sells for two or three times the price of white rice, it has the potential to increase farming incomes. Riceberry sold in the domestic market for about 50

baht The baht (; th, บาท, ; sign: ฿; code: THB) is the official currency of Thailand. It is divided into 100 ''satang'' (, ). The issuance of currency is the responsibility of the Bank of Thailand. SWIFT ranked the Thai baht as the 10th-m ...

a kilogram, while the export price was 200 baht per kilogram.

References

{{Varieties of rice Rice varieties Agriculture in Thailand