Fatty acid profiles of selected traditional and new improved rice varieties of Sri Lanka

This study evaluated fatty acid profiles (FAPs) of fifteen pigmented and non-pigmented traditional and new improved rice varieties (RVs) of Sri Lanka. Fat was extracted from rice flour, derivatized to methyl esters and analyzed by gas chromatography (n = 3 each). Results showed significant (P < 0.05) differences in FAPs among the tested RVs. Total fatty acids, saturated fatty acids (SFA), monounsaturated fatty acids (MUFA), polyunsaturated fatty acids (PUFA) and total unsaturated fatty acids of selected RVs varied from 22.00–32.29, 4.85–7.36, 9.44–14.55, 6.87–10.31 and 16.96–24.87 mg/g of rice respectively. Further, PUFA/SFA ratios varied from 1.22 to 1.63. The major fatty acids palmitic, oleic and linoleic acids together contributed nearly 90–96 % of total fatty acids present in rice. Interestingly, differences among RVs in terms of FAPs were due to differences in individual fatty acids in RVs irrespective of traditional or new improved and red or white RVs. In conclusion, nutritionally sound healthy RVs can be selected by studying its total FAP. This is the 1st study to report total FAP of a large set of Sri Lankan rice varieties and report differences among FAP of traditional and new improved rice varieties world over.