Obesity and chronic diet‐related diseases such as type 2 diabetes, hypertension, cardiovascular disease, cancers, and celiac are increasing worldwide. The increasing prevalence of these diseases has led nutritionists and food scientists to pay more attention to the relationship between diet and different disease risks. Among different foods, rice has received increasing attention because it is a major component of billions of peoples’ diets throughout the world. Rice is commonly consumed after polishing or whitening and the polished grain is known a high glycemic food because of its high starch content. In addition, the removal of the outer bran layer during rice milling results in a loss of nutrients, dietary fiber, and bioactive components. Therefore, many studies were performed to investigate the potential health benefits for the consumption of whole brown rice (BR) grain in comparison to the milled or white rice (WR). The objective of this work was to review the recent advances in research performed for purposes of evaluation of nutritional value and potential health benefits of the whole BR grain. Studies carried out for purposes of developing BR‐based food products are reviewed. BR safety and preservation treatments are also explored. In addition, economic and environmental benefits for the consumption of whole BR instead of the polished or WR are presented. Furthermore, challenges facing the commercialization of BR and future perspectives to promote its utilization as food are discussed.

Rice bran protein (RBP) aggregates were prepared by heating of RBP solution at 90 °C for 4 h at pH 2, 7, or 11 and used for preparing of packaging films. The structure and properties of RBP aggregates and RBP-based films were characterized with sodium dodecyl sulfate–polyacrylamide gel electrophoresis, transmission electron microscopy, scanning electron microscope, differential scanning calorimetry, Fourier transform infrared spectroscopy and circular dichroism. The results showed formation of fibrillar, globular, and large molecular protein aggregates during the heating at pH 2, 7 and 11. The heat-aggregated RBP-based films exhibited lower opacity, moisture content, water solubility, and water vapor permeability than those of untreated RBP-based films. Also, improved mechanical and thermal properties were found for the heat-aggregated RBP-based films. In addition, the heat-aggregated RBP-based film at pH 11 showed homogenous and smooth surface as well as compact appearance compared with the untreated RBP-based films or heat-aggregated RBP-based film at pH 2 or 7. Furthermore, the secondary structure of heat-aggregated RBP film exhibited an increase in β-sheet content and molecular interactions through non-covalent bonds. The obtained results indicated that formation of protein aggregates could improve physical, mechanical, and thermal properties of RBP-based film, especially at pH 11.

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A study was carried out on the resistance of four cereal crops (barley, wheat, sorghum and maize) to cereal aphid species at Assiut, Egypt. The results obtained show that there were significant differences among the cultivars tested. Among the five barley cultivars; Giza 132 was highly susceptible while the remaining cultivars were moderately resistant. Among the five wheat varieties; Gemiza 11 and Giza 168 were highly susceptible, followed by cultivars Sids 12 and Shandauel 1. Sids 1 showed moderate resistance. Among the five sorghum cultivars; Dorado was highly susceptible and Sphinx was susceptible. The aphid population declined significantly on Giza 15 and Hourse that were relatively (slightly or low) resistant (RR). The lowest aphid number recorded on the local (Baldi) variety showed moderate resistance. Among the five maize cultivars; the local (Baldi) cultivar was highly susceptible, followed by Unico 6, Triple 310 and Unico 131 that showed relatively resistance. The remaining cultivar, Unico 81, was infested with a low number of aphids and showed moderate resistance. The influence of aphid infestation on grain yield losses of wheat and barley cultivars were also evaluated.

A study was carried out on the resistance of four cereal crops (barley, wheat, sorghum and maize) to cereal aphid species at Assiut, Egypt. The results obtained show that there were significant differences among the cultivars tested. Among the five barley cultivars; Giza 132 was highly susceptible while the remaining cultivars were moderately resistant. Among the five wheat varieties; Gemiza 11 and Giza 168 were highly susceptible, followed by cultivars Sids 12 and Shandauel 1. Sids 1 showed moderate resistance. Among the five sorghum cultivars; Dorado was highly susceptible and Sphinx was susceptible. The aphid population declined significantly on Giza 15 and Hourse that were relatively (slightly or low) resistant (RR). The lowest aphid number recorded on the local (Baldi) variety showed moderate resistance. Among the five maize cultivars; the local (Baldi) cultivar was highly susceptible, followed by Unico 6, Triple 310 and Unico 131 that showed relatively resistance. The remaining cultivar, Unico 81, was infested with a low number of aphids and showed moderate resistance. The influence of aphid infestation on grain yield losses of wheat and barley cultivars were also evaluated.

Climate change is a major threat to most of the agricultural crops grown in tropical and sub-tropical areas globally. Drought stress is one of the consequences of climate change that has a negative impact on crop growth and yield. In the past, many simulation models were proposed to predict climate change and drought occurrences, and it is extremely important to improve essential crops to meet the challenges of drought stress which limits crop productivity and production. Wheat and barley are among the most common and widely used crops due to their economic and social values. Many parts of the world depend on these two crops for food and feed, and both crops are vulnerable to drought stress. Improving drought stress tolerance is a very challenging task for wheat and barley researchers and more research is needed to better understand this stress. The progress made in understanding drought tolerance is due to advances in three main research areas: physiology, breeding, and genetic research. The physiology research focused on the physiological and biochemical metabolic pathways that plants use when exposed to drought stress. New wheat and barley genotypes having a high degree of drought tolerance are produced through breeding by making crosses from promising drought-tolerant genotypes and selecting among their progeny. Also, identifying genes contributing to drought tolerance is very important. Previous studies showed that drought tolerance is a polygenic trait and genetic constitution will help to dissect the gene network (s) controlling drought tolerance. This review explores the recent advances in these three research …

Climate change is a major threat to most of the agricultural crops grown in tropical and sub-tropical areas globally. Drought stress is one of the consequences of climate change that has a negative impact on crop growth and yield. In the past, many simulation models were proposed to predict climate change and drought occurrences, and it is extremely important to improve essential crops to meet the challenges of drought stress which limits crop productivity and production. Wheat and barley are among the most common and widely used crops due to their economic and social values. Many parts of the world depend on these two crops for food and feed, and both crops are vulnerable to drought stress. Improving drought stress tolerance is a very challenging task for wheat and barley researchers and more research is needed to better understand this stress. The progress made in understanding drought tolerance is due to advances in three main research areas: physiology, breeding, and genetic research. The physiology research focused on the physiological and biochemical metabolic pathways that plants use when exposed to drought stress. New wheat and barley genotypes having a high degree of drought tolerance are produced through breeding by making crosses from promising drought-tolerant genotypes and selecting among their progeny. Also, identifying genes contributing to drought tolerance is very important. Previous studies showed that drought tolerance is a polygenic trait and genetic constitution will help to dissect the gene network (s) controlling drought tolerance. This review explores the recent advances in these three research …

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