By John Lovett
Rice bran is a plentiful agricultural byproduct that is often underused, but research out of the Arkansas Agricultural Experiment Station shows it could be a source for biodegradable food packaging with built-in antibacterial properties.
Antimicrobial resistance is a significant global health threat, according to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention. In the United States alone, more than 2.8 million antimicrobial-resistant infections occur each year.
For the past year, with funding support from the Arkansas Biosciences Institute, a multidisciplinary team of scientists led by Mahfuzur Rahman has explored how plasma technology could contribute to new antimicrobial strategies. The team is using plasma, a state of matter visible in natural phenomena such as the Northern Lights, to improve the value-added capabilities of rice bran and rice bran protein.
Rahman is an assistant professor in the department of food science for the experiment station, the research arm of the University of Arkansas Division of Agriculture, and the Dale Bumpers College of Agricultural, Food and Life Sciences at the University of Arkansas.
The research showed that treating a clear film made from rice bran protein with argon-generated cold plasma inhibited foodborne bacterial pathogens including E. coli, Staphylococcus aureus and Pseudomonas aeruginosa, a bacterium known for its antibiotic resistance.
Source : uada.edu