Characteristic Changes in Brown Rice (Oryza sativa L.) Cultivars of 3 Ecotypes During Different Storage Conditions

The aim of this study investigated the fluctuations of 3 characters from 3 ecotypes [early ripening (ER), middle ripening (MR), and late ripening (LR)] of 20 Korean brown rice cultivars in different storage systems [time: 12 and 24 weeks, temperature: low ($10^{\circ}C$) and room ($25^{\circ}C$)]. With increase of storage time and temperature, lipoxygenase activity, and fat acidity increased, whereas germination rate was reduced. ER cultivars exhibited the highest lipoxygenase activity of $35.49{\pm}2.46$ unit/mg protein during 24 weeks storage at $25^{\circ}C$, followed by LR ($32.73{\pm}1.33$) and MR ($32.66{\pm}1.62$) cultivars. The amounts of fat acidity also were observed by the same order (ER: $20.40{\pm}2.12$>LR: $19.68{\pm}1.86$>MR: $19.64{\pm}1.35$ mg KOH/100 g). Germination rate slightly decreased with increase of time and temperature (MR>LR>ER), but MR and LR cultivars showed the most significant changes (ER: $60.90{\pm}23.47%$, MR: $32.66{\pm}13.95%$, and LR: $32.53{\pm}5.87%$). On the basis of above results, MR cultivars were evaluated the highest quality, because high lipoxygenase activity, high fat acidity, and low germination rate have deteriorated in quality and generated off-odor. Thus, MR cultivars might be very important sources in food processing and stored dietary supplement aspects.