Varietal influence on antioxidant properties and glycemic index of pigmented and non-pigmented rice

Diabetes is a chronic metabolic illness characterized by hyperglycemia, mainly affected by staple diet pattern as consumption of rice which makes population more vulnerable to this condition. On the contrary, some traditional pigmented rice varieties are proven to be beneficial in managing different metabolic disorders as diabetes, aging etc. Nutrient composition and glycemic potential of pigmented rice cultivars namely kattuyanam, red kavuni, black kavuni and karudan samba were studied and found to have immense nutrient potentials. Kattuyanam had comparatively higher content of protein, amylose, total phenol, total flavonoid, DPPH and reducing power followed by red and black kavuni. Amylose content (27.28-30.03%) correlated inversely with the glycemic index (r = - 0.713; p <= 0.01) and glycemic load (r = - 0.574). Kattuyanam, an indigenous pigmented rice variety, with 30.03% amylose and 9.33% TDF was eliciting low GI of 47.19 and glycemic load of 8.80 whereas karudan samba recorded high GI of 69.74 and glycemic load of 13.84. Hence, kattuyanam with high amylose and low GI can serve as a source of functional food and could play a vital role in the management and prevention of diabetes and related disorders.