Abstract:
Rice is the life of Asia and in many region of the world rice is an important part of their diet.
For Sri Lankans rice is not just staple food and is embodied in the culture, religion, local
ecology, biodiversity, health and nutrition. Rice is rich in genetic diversity and thousands of
varieties grown around the word. However, with the introduction of high yielding fertilizer
dependent rice very few varieties are grown around the world only considering yield and
appearance of end product. Recently health benefits of rice attracted attention with the
increase of life style related diseases like cancer, heart diseases and diabetics. Many
laboratory studies have shown that rice products may have anti-cancer properties and the
potential to treat other conditions such as diabetes, kidney stones and heart disease. This
paper very briefly reviews the nutraceutical and medicinal properties of rice. Although, rice
is considered as starchy food it comprises proteins with essential amino acids, fatty acids,
fiber, several minerals and vitamins which are essential for normal body functions. Further it
does not consist of cholesterols and salt and therefore rice is an excellent inclusion in healthy
diet for hypertension person who have been advised to restrict to eat low salt diets.
Researchers have been identified ancient medicinal systems in Sri Lanka as well as in other
rice growing countries clearly identified medicinal properties of rice. Rice is the main
constituent of oral rehydration solution for sick people from very ancient time to date and it
has been showed that fice based rehydration solutions are better than glucose based solutions.
In addition rice is use to treat varies ailments such as diarrhea, vomiting, fever, skin diseases,
stomach upsets, indigestion, blood pressure, diabetics, chronic constipation, cancer etc. Some
of traditional uses of rice are supported by scientific studies. As an example antioxidant
properties of rice have abilities to prevent cancer and low glycemic index of some traditional
rice can reduce blood glucose levels and diabetics. Rice starch extracts and bran oil also use
in range of cosmetics and hygiene products due to its nourishing and moisturizing effects on
skin and hair. All these nutracutical and medicinal properties of rice widely vary depending
on varieties and studies showed that coloured rice like red and black rice and in traditional
varieties are far better than high yielding rice cultivated today. Therefore, increasing micro
nutrient levels of high yielding varieties combining traditional methods of growing and
modern biotechnology will help to rice consumers for healthier, longer lives.
