Exploring the Frontier: A Global Bibliometric Review of Rice Bran as Functional Food

Abstract

This bibliometric review provides a concise overview of global research trends on rice bran as a functional food. Rice bran, valued for its essential fatty acids, proteins, dietary fibre, vitamins, and antioxidants, has been increasingly studied for its potential health benefits, is recognised for its potential in preventing cardiovascular and chronic diseases. Despite its nutritional benefits and emerging research interest, comprehensive insights into the global research trends, remain fragmented. Firstly, extracting data from Scopus from 1956 to 2023, and followed by visualization tools such as VOSviewer and Scopus Analyser, this analysis maps the evolution of rice bran research, identifying key themes, contributors, and geographic distributions. The analysis highlights key research centres in the United States, China, and India and dominant themes such as dietary fibre, antioxidant activity, digestibility and fermentation. Food Chemistry emerges as the most cited journal. This study categorizes research into nine clusters, including nutrient utilisation, antioxidant properties, nutrition and fermentation, enzymatic and microbial interaction in nutrition, functional and sensory properties, dietary fiber and gut health, antioxidant activity and mineral interaction, bioactive compounds and health benefits like cancer prevention. This review maps the intellectual landscape, identifies gaps, and suggest opportunities for future research. This overview is crucial for fostering integrated development and innovation in the functional food sector.