Electrolyzed functional water (EFW) possesses broad spectrum antimicrobial activity, and is harmless to
the environment and humans. In this research EFW used in germinated brown rice (GBR) production
instead of tap water. The effects of the EFW on microbial growth and gamma-aminobutyric acid (GABA)
content; and the effects of available chlorine concentration (ACC) and presoaking and ultrasonic pretreatment
in alkaline electrolyzed water (AlEW) on GABA accumulation during germination were
studied. The results showed that presoaking and ultrasonic treatment of brown rice (BR) in AlEW can
significantly enhance the antimicrobial activity of acidic electrolyzed water (AEW), resulting in plate
count reductions of 2.89 and 3.75 log cfu/g for strong and slightly AEW treatments, respectively,
compared with tap water. The AEW achieved better promotion of GBR growth and GABA accumulation
than AlEW. A statistical analysis showed that the GABA content was significantly positively correlated
with GBR sprout length. The main finding of this study indicates that AEW is effective at reducing the
microbial load on BR and enhances the growth and GABA accumulation of GBR.