Composition and structure of high-oil oat

Oat (Avena sativa L.) selections with elevated oil concentrations ranging from 6.9 to 18.1% were obtained from a recurrent selection breeding regime at Iowa State University. These selections, along with two control cultivars, were analysed to determine their tocol(tocopherol and tocotrienol), protein, starch and beta-glucan concentrations. Selections were also compared by histochemical techniques that stained the oil bodies? protein and beta-glucan. Tocotrienol concentration was correlated with oil concentration (r(2)=0.83), but tocopherol concentration was not Tocotrienols are predominantly located in the endosperm. whereas tocopherols are concentrated in the germ. Tocotrienols are antioxidants and have cholesterol-lowering properties in humans and experimental animals. Protein and beta-glucan concentrations also increased with increasing oil concentration, whereas starch concentration decreased. The micrographs showed that oil and protein were distributed throughout the endosperm. Selections having greater oil and protein concentration by nuclear magnetic resonance and near infrared transmittance assay also showed increased fluorescence. (C) 1997 Academic Press Limited.