Facile Synthesis, Properties of Rice Starch and Its Applications

Abstract

Starch is a widely used natural polymer in both food and non-food industries due to its excellent stabilizing and binding properties. There is a surplus demand for starchy foods because they have been consumed for a long time. Starch is used in the food industry as a thickener, stabilizer, texture modifier, gelling agent, fat substitute, and shelf-life extender. In applications other than food, it functions as an absorbent, sizing agent, binder, adhesive, and disintegrant. It is also used to strengthen the binding between materials. Rice starch stands out for its fine granule size, neutral taste, hypoallergenic nature, and better digestibility, making it suitable for specialized uses. This study presents a simple method for extracting rice starch and characterizes it using traditional methods and viscometry. The work also highlights the chemical and physical properties of rice starch and its potential applications across various industries.

Introduction

Rice (Oryza sativa L.) is a major global staple, with starch being its primary carbohydrate (70–80% amylopectin, 20–30% amylose). Rice starch is widely used in food and non-food industries due to its favorable properties: neutral taste, smooth texture, hypoallergenic nature, and gluten-free profile. Applications range from food (e.g., baby food, sauces, gluten-free products) to pharmaceuticals, cosmetics, textiles, and paper.

Functional Properties of Rice Starch:

• High freeze-thaw stability

• Good gelatinization and retrogradation behavior

• Superior thickening and pasting abilities

• Easy integration into hot liquids

• Naturally white, odorless, and small-granule-sized

Extraction Method:

Rice starch was extracted using the alkaline method:

• Rice soaked in 0.4% NaOH at 30°C for 10 hours

• Proteins and fibers removed via separation and rinsing

• Final product dried in a hot air oven at 40°C for 12 hours

• Resulted in high-purity starch with minimal alkali residue

Compositional Analysis (Results):

Viscosity & Functional Testing:

• Pasting properties analyzed using a Rapid Visco Analyzer (RVA)

• Key metrics: peak viscosity, setback, breakdown, pasting temperature

• Rice starch exhibited high paste viscosity, suitable for:

  • Food thickening

  • Paper and textile finishing

  • Industrial gelling applications

Conclusion

Rice starch, which constitutes nearly 90% of polished rice grain weight, plays a vital role across both food and industrial applications due to its functional versatility and favorable physicochemical properties. Structurally composed of amylose and amylopectin, rice starch exists as semi-crystalline granules that are notably smaller than those from other sources. These unique characteristics, along with its naturally gluten-free and hypoallergenic nature, make rice starch highly desirable for specialized formulations. Although traditionally extracted through alkaline methods that may pose environmental concerns, the current study demonstrates that properly controlled traditional techniques can still yield high-purity rice starch, maintaining its integrity and enhancing its functional quality. We used classical analytical approaches to successfully characterize rice starch properties such as moisture, protein, fat, fiber, ash, and total starch content, confirming its suitability for a wide range of applications. Rice starch undergoes structural transitions such as gelatinization, retrogradation, and pasting during thermal processing, which significantly influence its texture and performance. Importantly, while rice starch forms weaker protein–fat bonds compared to corn or maize, this does not negatively impact its digestibility, texture, or thermal behavior during food processing. Additionally, rice starch exhibits notable commercial potential due to its application in cosmetics, textiles, paper, photography, and bioplastics. Its ability to form porous spherical aggregates when spray-dried makes it valuable for encapsulation and controlled release systems, adding further relevance in advanced food and pharmaceutical formulations. Overall, this study reinforces that rice starch is a highly functional, high-quality biopolymer, with strong promise for sustainable, clean-label, and innovative product development across various industries.

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Copyright © 2025 Subash Chandra Bose Manikandan. This is an open access article distributed under the Creative Commons Attribution License, which permits unrestricted use, distribution, and reproduction in any medium, provided the original work is properly cited.