Evaluation of Major Dietary Ingredients in Diverse Oats (Avena sativa L.) Germplasm

Abstract

Oat (Avena sativa L.) is one of the world’s most important cereal crops, owing to its use as an important source of essential nutrients for both humans and animals. In the present study, the main nutritional components of 975 oat germplasm accessions were investigated. Crude fiber content ranged from 0.08 to 6.79%, with a mean of 2.14%, whereas total dietary fiber content ranged from 5.32 to 17.59%, with a mean of 11.01%, β-glucan content ranged from 1.02 to 6.33%, with a mean of 3.05%, and lipid content ranged from 1.41 to 8.72%, with a mean of 4.73%. Furthermore, most of the germplasm accessions exhibited 1-3% crude fiber content in the range of 1-3%, 9-12% total dietary fiber content, 2-4% β-glucan content, and 4-5% lipid content. Both the crude fiber and total dietary fiber contents were significantly but weakly correlated with β-glucan content, and the nutritional contents of germplasm accessions from different countries varied significantly. The highest mean crude fiber, total dietary fiber, β-glucan, and lipid contents were exhibited by the germplasm accessions collected from Canada, the UK, the Netherlands, and Turkey, respectively, and the accessions that exhibited the highest crude fiber (n=4), total dietary fiber (n=7), β-glucan content (n=5), and lipid (n=12) contents were identified. These findings provide valuable information for breeding programs aiming to improve the nutritional value of already existing high-yielding oat cultivars.