Effects of enzymatic free fatty acid reduction process on the composition and phytochemicals of rice bran oil

•Enzymatic free fatty acid reduction process (EFFARP) efficiently reduced acid value.•Addzyme CALB 165G and Lipozyme 435 performed well.•Glycerol and monoacylglycerol performed similarly as acyl acceptors.•EFFARP changed the Sn-2 fatty acid composition of rice bran oil.•Bioactive phytochemicals did not show obvious loss after EFFARP. The effects of enzymatic free fatty acid reduction process (EFFARP) on the composition and phytochemicals of dewaxed and degummed rice bran oil (DDRBO) were investigated and compared with the effects observed using internal acyl acceptors. The acid value of DDRBO was effectively decreased from 16.99 mg KOH/g to approximately 0.36 mg KOH/g by EFFARP. EFFARP significantly decreased the moisture content and peroxide value of DDRBO and increased the induction period. The Sn-2 fatty acid comoposition of DDRBO after EFFARP was very reaching the total fatty acid composition. EFFARP significantly increased the triacylglycerol content compared to the control, while the oryzanol content was not obviously affected. The contents of free sterol, and total tocopherol and tocotrienol were increased slightly by EFFARP compared to the control. When conducted under vacuum with added nitrogen, EFFARP shows great application potential in the edible oil industry.