Composition and Nutrients Depletion after Cooking Three Pigmented Varieties of Whole Grain Rice from Côte d’Ivoire

Rice (Oryza sativa) is the most consumed food in the world and represents an important diet element in Côte d'Ivoire. Composition data on rice varieties produced and consumed in Côte d’Ivoire are not available rendering it difficult to evaluate their nutritional importance in consumers. The purpose of the present study was to determine whole grains’ biochemical composition of three local pigmented varieties and evaluate the effect of boiling on this composition. The moisture, ashes, carbohydrates, lipids, proteins and polyphenols rates were determined using standard methods on raw and cooked whole grain samples from studied varieties. Results showed that the nutrient characteristics of raw rice are superior to those of cooked rice. The boiling treatment used to cook the rice induced starch and fibre hydrolysis into simple carbohydrates, and reduced rates of all nutrients. This first study focused on Côte d’Ivoire locally produced rice varieties open the road for further investigations that will nourish the food composition tables for the main types of raw and cooked foods consumed in West Africa.