Rice flour was provided by the company Josapar S.A. Glycerol
and sorbitol were purchased from Nuclear (Sa˜o Paulo, Brazil).
Chemical analyses were performed to determine the chemical
composition of the starch extracted from rice and for the rice flour.
The methodologies used were: a) Kjeldahl method for determining
protein content, using the value 6.25 as the nitrogen-to-protein
conversion factor (AOAC, 1996); b) to determine the lipid content,
Soxhlet extraction method was used for lipid content determination,
with petroleum ether as solvent (boiling point 40–60 C) and
the minimum extraction time of 36 hours (AOAC, 1996); c) dry
incineration method at 550 C to determine the ash content (AOAC,
1996); d) oven desiccation at 105 2 C to determine the moisture
(AOAC, 1996); e) carbohydrates content was determined by difference,
from the contents of the others components.