Bran

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Bran

Bran is the hard outer layer of grain

GRAIN

GRAIN is an international non-governmental organization based in Barcelona, Spain, which works toward sustainable agriculture. It was formed upon the realization that the genetic diversity of the world's food crops are being drastically eliminated....
and consists of combined aleurone

Aleurone

Aleurone is a protein found in protein granules of maturing seeds and tubers. The term is also used for the outermost cell layer of the seed coat, the aleurone layer....
and pericarp. Along with germ

Cereal germ

The germ of a cereal is the reproductive part that germinates to grow into a plant; it is the embryo of the seed....
, it is an integral part of whole grain

Whole grain

Whole grains are cereal that contain bran and cereal germ as well as the endosperm, in contrast to refined grains, which retain only the endosperm....
s, and is often produced as a by-product

By-product

A by-product is a secondary or incidental product deriving from a manufacturing process, a chemical reaction or a biochemical pathway, and is not the primary product or service being produced....
of milling in the production of refined grains

Refined grains

Refined grains, in contrast to whole grains, refers to grain products consisting of grains or grain flours that have been significantly modified from their natural composition....
. When bran is removed from grains, they lose a portion of their nutritional value.

Nutrition Facts

????? Nutrition Facts
Calories in ?????
Carbs in ?????
Fat in ?????

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Encyclopedia

Bran is the hard outer layer of grain

GRAIN

Aleurone

Cereal germ

The germ of a cereal is the reproductive part that germinates to grow into a plant; it is the embryo of the seed....
, it is an integral part of whole grain

Whole grain

Whole grains are cereal that contain bran and cereal germ as well as the endosperm, in contrast to refined grains, which retain only the endosperm....
s, and is often produced as a by-product

By-product

Refined grains

Rice

Rice is a staple food for a large part of the world's human population, especially in tropical Latin America, and East Asia, South Asia and Southeast Asia, making it the second-most consumed cereal grain, after maize....
, wheat

Wheat

Wheat , is a worldwide cultivated Poaceae from the Levant region of the Middle East. Globally, after maize, wheat is the second most-produced food among the cereal just above rice....
, maize

Maize

Maize , known as corn in some countries, is a cereal domesticated in Mesoamerica and subsequently spread throughout the American continents....
, oat

Oat

The common oat is a species of Cereal Agriculture for its seed, which is known by the same name . While oats are suitable for human consumption as oatmeal and rolled oats, one of the most common uses is as livestock feed....
s, barley

Barley

Barley is an annual plant cereal grain derived from the grass Hordeum vulgare. It serves as a major animal feed crop, with smaller amounts used for malting and in health food, as well as the making of alcoholic beverages beer and whisky....
, and millet

Millet

The millets are a group of small-seeded species of cereal Crop or grains, widely grown around the world for food and fodder. They do not form a scientific classification group, but rather a functional or agronomic one....
. Bran should not be confused with chaff

Chaff

Chaff is the inedible, dry, scaly protective casings of the seeds of cereal grain, or similar fine, dry, scaly plant material such as scaly parts of flowers, or finely chopped straw....
, which is coarser scaly material surrounding the grain, but not forming part of the grain itself.

Bran is particularly rich in dietary fiber

Dietary fiber

Dietary fiber, sometimes called "roughage", is the indigestible portion of plant foods that pushes food through the digestive system, absorbing water and easing defecation....
and omegas

Essential fatty acid

Essential fatty acids, or EFAs, are fatty acids that cannot be constructed within an organism from other components by any known chemical pathways, and therefore must be obtained from the diet....
and contains significant quantitities of starch

Starch

File:Amylose2.svgFile:Amylopektin Sessel.svgStarch or amylum is a polysaccharide carbohydrate consisting of a large number of glucose units joined together by glycosidic bonds....
, protein

Protein

Proteins are organic compounds made of amino acids arranged in a linear chain and joined together by peptide bonds between the carboxyl and amino groups of adjacent amino acid Residue ....
, vitamin

Vitamin

A vitamin is an organic compound required as a nutrient in tiny amounts by an organism. A compound is called a vitamin when it cannot be biosynthesis in sufficient quantities by an organism, and must be obtained from the diet....
s, and dietary mineral

Dietary mineral

Dietary minerals are the chemical elements required by living organisms, other than the four elements carbon, hydrogen, nitrogen, and oxygen present in common organic chemistry....
s.

Rice bran is a by-product of the rice milling process (the conversion of brown rice

Brown rice

Brown rice is Huller or partly milled rice, a kind of whole grain, a natural grain that remains unbleached. It has a mild nutty flavor, is chewier than white rice and becomes rancidification more quickly....
to white rice

White rice

White rice is the name given to milled rice that has had its husk, bran, and cereal germ removed. This is done largely to prevent spoilage and to extend the storage life of the grain....
), and it contains various antioxidants that impart beneficial effects on human health. It is well known that a major rice bran fraction contains 12%-13% oil and highly unsaponifiable

Unsaponifiable

Unsaponifiables are components of an oil, fat, wax, etc. that do not saponification. Unsaponifiables are important when creating a soap recipe in the process of Soap#Soapmaking....
components (4.3%). This fraction contains tocotrienol, gamma-oryzanol, and beta-sitosterol; all these constituents may contribute to the lowering of the plasma levels of the various parameters of the lipid profile. Rice bran also contains a high level of dietary fibers (beta-glucan, pectin, and gum). In addition, it also contains 4-hydroxy-3-methoxycinnamic acid (ferulic acid), which is also a component of the structure of non-lignified cell walls. However, some research suggests that there are particularly high levels of inorganic arsenic (a toxin and carcinogen) present in rice bran, and that any health benefits may not be worth the potential detriments.. Other types of bran (derived from wheat, oat or barley) contain less arsenic than rice bran.

The high oil content of bran makes it subject to rancidification

Rancidification

Rancidification is the decomposition of fats, oils and other lipids by hydrolysis or oxidation, or both. Hydrolysis will split fatty acid chains away from the glycerol backbone in glycerides....
, one of the reasons that is often separated from the grain before storage or further processing. The bran itself can be heat-treated to increase its longevity.

Uses of bran

Bran is often used to enrich bread

Bread

Bread is a staple food prepared by baking a dough of flour and water. It may be leavened or unleavened. Edible salt, fat and a leavening agent such as yeast are common ingredients, though bread may contain a range of other ingredients: milk, Egg , sugar, spice, fruit , vegetables , Nut or seeds ....
s (notably muffin

Muffin

A muffin is a type of bread that is baked in small portions. Many forms are somewhat like small cakes or cupcakes in shape, although they usually are not as sweet as cupcakes and generally lack frosting....
s) and breakfast cereal

Breakfast cereal

A breakfast cereal is a Fast moving consumer goods food product intended to be consumed as part of a breakfast. It is usually eaten cold as a ready-to-eat meal and mixed with a liquid, such as milk or water, though occasionally Nut and fruit are also added....
s, especially for the benefit of those wishing to increase their intake of dietary fiber. Bran may also be used for pickling

Pickling

Pickling, also known as brining or corning, is the process of preserving food by Anaerobic organism fermentation in brine , to produce lactic acid bacteria, or marination and storing it in an acid solution, usually vinegar ....
(nukazuke

Nukazuke

are a type of Japanesepickling, made by fermenting vegetables in rice bran . Almost any edible vegetable may be pickled through this technique,though traditional varieties include eggplant, Japanese radish ,...
), as in the tsukemono

Tsukemono

are Japanese Pickling. They are served with rice as okazu , and sometimes with Drink as an sakana .The most common kinds are pickled in Edible salt or brine....
of Japan

Japan

Japan is an island country in East Asia. Located in the Pacific Ocean, it lies to the east of the Sea of Japan, People's Republic of China, North Korea, South Korea and Russia, stretching from the Sea of Okhotsk in the north to the East China Sea and Taiwan in the south....
.

Rice bran finds particularly many uses in Japan, where it is known as nuka (?; ??). Besides using it for pickling, Japanese people also add it to the water

Water

Water is a common chemical substance that is essential for the survival of all known forms of life. In typical usage, water refers only to its liquid form or States of matter, but the substance also has a solid state, ice, and a gaseous state, water vapor or steam....
when boiling

Boiling

Boiling, a type of phase transition, is the rapid vaporization of a liquid, which typically occurs when a liquid is heated to its boiling point, the temperature at which the vapor pressure of the liquid is equal to the pressure exerted on the liquid by the surrounding environmental pressure....
bamboo shoot

Bamboo shoot

Bamboo shoots are the edible shoots of bamboo species Bambusa vulgaris and Phyllostachys. They are used in numerous Asian cuisine dishes and broths, and are available in supermarkets in various sliced forms, both fresh and canned versions....
s, and use it for dish washing. In Kitakyushu

Kitakyushu, Fukuoka

is a cities of Japan located in Fukuoka prefecture, Kyushu, Japan. It is midway between Tokyo and Shanghai. Within Japan it is a leading city in anti-pollution measures and recycling with the facility in Wakamatsu ward....
City, it is called Jinda and used for stewing fish, such as sardine

Sardine

Sardines, or pilchards, are a group of several types of small, oily fish related to herrings, family Clupeidae. Sardines were named after the island of Sardinia, where they were once in abundance....
.

Bran oil may be also extracted for use by itself for industrial purposes (such as in the paint industry), or as a cooking oil

Cooking oil

Cooking oil is purified fat of plant origin, which is liquid at room temperature.Some of the many different kinds of edible Vegetable fats and oilss include: olive oil, palm oil, soybean oil, canola oil, pumpkin seed oil, corn oil, sunflower oil, safflower oil, peanut oil, grape seed oil, sesame oil, argan oil and rice bran oil....
, such as rice bran oil

Rice bran oil

Rice bran oil is the vegetable oil extracted from the germ and inner husk of rice. It is notable for its very high smoke point of 490?F and its mild flavor, making it suitable for high-temperature cooking methods such as stir frying and deep frying....
.

In Romania

Romania

Romania is a country located in Southeastern Europe Central Europe, North of the Balkan Peninsula, on the Lower Danube, within and outside the Carpathian Mountains, bordering on the Black Sea....
, the fermented wheat

Wheat

Wheat , is a worldwide cultivated Poaceae from the Levant region of the Middle East. Globally, after maize, wheat is the second most-produced food among the cereal just above rice....
bran is usually used when preparing sour soup

Soup

Soup is a food that is made by combining ingredients such as meat and vegetables in Stock or hot/boiling water, until the flavor is extracted, forming a broth....
s, called borscht

Borscht

Borscht is a vegetable soup from Eastern Europe. It is traditionally made with beetroot as a main ingredient which gives it a strong red color....
.

Bran for pets and companion animals

Bran is widely used as a major component in pet foods for rabbit

Rabbit

Rabbits are small mammals in the family Leporidae of the order Lagomorpha, found in several parts of the world. There are seven different genus in the family taxonomy as rabbits, including the European rabbit , Cottontail rabbit , and the Amami rabbit ....
s and guinea pig

Guinea pig

The guinea pig is a species of rodent belonging to the family Caviidae and the genus Cavia. Despite their common name, these animals are not pigs, nor do they come from Guinea ....
s.

Rice bran is sometimes fed to horse

Horse

The horse is a hoofed mammal, a subspecies of one of seven extant species of the family Equidae. The horse has evolution of the horse over the past 45 to 55 million years from a small multi-toed creature into the large, odd-toed ungulate animal of today....
s for its nutritional

Equine nutrition

Equine nutrition is the feeding of horses, pony, mules, donkeys, and other Equus s. Correct and balanced nutrition is a critical component of proper horse care....
value, particularly as a plant-based fat supplement. It is considered an excellent way to put weight onto a thin horse, without the problems associated with overfeeding grain. Rice bran is also included in some foods for aging dog

Dog

The dog is a domesticated subspecies of the Gray Wolf, a member of the Canidae family of the order Carnivora. The term is used for both feral and pet varieties....
s.

Wheat bran is fed to horses in the form of a warm porridge or mash. Bran mash is considered an excellent way to get the horse to drink more water. It is also indicated for its laxative qualities.

External links

by Raxit J. Jariwalla, Ph.D.
() A company providing novel methods of rice bran stabilization and stabilized rice bran derivatives extraction.
by Talwinder Kahlon and Gordon Smith.

Bran

Uses of bran

Bran for pets and companion animals

See also

External links