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Pigmented rice has attracted considerable attention due to its nutritional value, which is in large conferred by its abundant content of phenolic compounds, considerable micronutrient concentrations, as well as its higher resistant starch and thereby slower digestibility properties. A wide range of phenolic compounds identified in pigmented rice exhibit biological activities such as antioxidant activity, anti-inflammatory, anticancer, and antidiabetic properties. Post-harvest processes significantly reduce the levels of these phytochemicals, but recent developments in processing methods have allowed greater retention of their contents. Pigmented rice has also been converted to different products for food preservation and to derive functional foods. Profiling a large set of pigmented rice cultivars will thus not only provide new insights into the phytochemical diversity of rice and the genes underlying the vast array of secondary metabolites present in this species but also provide information concerning their nutritional benefits, which will be instrumental in breeding healthier rice. The present review mainly focuses on the nutritional composition of pigmented rice and how it can impact human health alongside the effects of post-harvest processes and product development methods to retain the ambient level of phytochemicals in the final processed form in which it is consumed. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Bignay (Antidesma bunius (L.) Spreng) is an underutilised native berry grown in several Asian countries including the Philippines. Limited studies have been carried out on specific bignay cultivars and their fruit maturity stages. This study aimed to differentiate two cultivars of bignay with respect to their morphology, physicochemical properties, and proximate compositions at different maturity stages. Morphological characterisation showed that the kalabaw cultivar had a superior performance when compared to the common cultivar. Kalabaw's whole fruit weight (0.47 - 0.54 g), equatorial diameter (8.42 - 9.05 mm), thickness (7.08-7.40 mm), flesh weight (0.42 - 0.49 g), flesh thickness (1.58 - 2.20 mm) and edible portion (90.1 - 91.1%) were significantly higher when compared to corresponding common cultivar's performances; fruit weight 0.28 - 0.34 g, equatorial diameter 7.50 - 8.00 mm, thickness 6.30 - 6.95 mm, flesh weight 0.25 - 0.31 g, flesh thickness 1.33 - 1.90 mm and edible portion 88.5 - 89.5%. The superiority of kalabaw includes the measured seed parameters. For the physicochemical and proximate compositions, there is not much of a difference, while kalabaw had a lower sugar (3.40 - 8.00%) and acidity (0.36 - 0.65%) content, its moisture (13.7 - 18.3%), crude fat (4.64 - 5.66%) and crude fibre (5.37 - 10.10%) content were higher compared to the common cultivar. This study showed that kalabaw could be best used for the production of different value-added products. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]