Chemical Compositions and Physical Properties of Selected Malaysian Rice: A Review

Rice is the main food for most countries in Asia and, about 90% of the global rice area, production and consumption are concentrated on Asia. In Malaysia, the main varieties of rice found in retail outlets are ordinary local and imported white rice, brown unpolished rice and specialty rice. In short, conventional rice or white rice is a medium-length, white kernel with translucent endosperm. Brown rice is also called unmilled rice that is produced by removing the outermost layer of the grain. Specialty rice is the rice with special characteristics which includes pigmented rice, fragrant rice, parboiled and glutinous rice. Various rice varieties have various chemical and physical properties. This staple food is found to have received the utmost attention because of its potent antioxidant properties especially pigmented rice. These properties were related mainly to their phytochemical content which was associated with the provision of health benefits in chronic disease reduction. Therefore, this paper will comprehensively review the chemical compositions and physical properties of the Malaysian rice and its relation with health benefits.