Coix Seed: A Review of Its Physicochemical Composition, Bioactivity, Processing, Application, Functionality, and Safety Aspects

ABSTRACT

Coix seed (also known as adlay, Job’s tears) is a cereal grain mainly popular in tropical Asia. It is used in Chinese traditional medicine to treat various types of diseases and also consumed as food. It is rich nutritionally and contains a wide range of bioactive compounds and phytochemicals. The functionality of coix seed has been explored to the extent that it may provide a basis for its use as a food ingredient. Several studies have demonstrated the biological activity of coix seed. Published reviews on coix seed are scattered and not systematic. This review gives a comprehensive summary of the physicochemical composition, bioactivity, processing, application, and safety aspects of coix seed.

KEYWORDS:

• Coix seed
• isolation
• functionality
• safety
• bioactivity

Acknowledgments

This work was supported by the National Natural Science Foundation of China (32072354), National Key R & D Project of China (2016YFD0400303), and the Priority Academic Program Development of Jiangsu Higher Education Institutions (PAPD).

Declaration of conflict of interest

The authors declare that there are no conflicts of interest.

Additional information

Funding

This work was supported by the National Natural Science Foundation of China (32072354), National Key R & D Project of China (2016YFD0400303) and the Priority Academic Program Development of Jiangsu Higher Education Institutions (PAPD). [2016YFD0400303,32072354].