3.3.2. Mineral content as a function of DOM
Fig. 6 shows the mineral content as a function of
DOM. Its average level in brown rice (DOM = 0%)
was 1.6%, and mineral concentrations decreased from
the outer bran layers towards the middle endosperm.
Once the bran and outer endosperm were removed
(DOM > 15%), the level of minerals remained constant,
indicating that the minerals are rather uniformly distributed
in the middle and core endosperm. These observations
are in agreement with results of Itani et al. (2002)
and Resurreccion et al. (1979). The relative amounts of
minerals in the bran and endosperm fractions indicate
that most of the minerals are present in the bran
(61.0%). About one fourth (23.7%) of the total mineral
content is present in the outer endosperm, 3.7% in the
middle endosperm and 11.6% in the core endosperm
(Table 1).