The comparative evaluation of the quality of brown rice by plasma treatment and milling treatment: Appearance, cooking characteristics, texture characteristics, and nutrient composition

Cold plasma is a non-thermal physical processing method, which is considered ideal for brown rice processing to improve cooking performance due to its high efficiency and safe benefits. This study investigates the impact of cold plasma and milling treatments applied at different durations on the appearance, nutritional quality, cooking properties, and texture of brown rice (BR), highlighting the potential of plasma technology in its processing. The results indicated plasma treatment more effectively preserved the nutrients in brown rice, whereas milling reduced the protein and dietary fiber content to 66.23% and 29.31% of original levels, respectively. Plasma preserved the complete skin structure and color of brown rice compared with grinding treatment, and the plasma treated for 60 s reduced the hardness, chewiness and gumminess of brown rice to 1628.86 g, 168.39 g and 379.80 g, respectively, indicating that the palatability of cooked brown rice was enhanced. Moreover, contact angle measurements showed that plasma treatment transforming the original hydrophobic structure of brown rice into hydrophilic, enhancing the water absorption in the initial absorption stage and the infiltration stage. These findings demonstrate that plasma is a promising method to enhance brown rice quality, providing a theoretical foundation for its application in agricultural processing.