Chemical composition and nutritive value of husked and naked oats grain

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Abstract

11 samples of oats from the 2005 crop of the field experiment carried out in RSD Lipnik were examined. Naked grain oats were represented by a standard Polar cultivar and 5 strains (STH 6102, STH 6856, STH 7146, STH 7256, STH 1692), whereas husked grains were represented by a standard Bohun cultivar and 4 strains (STH 684, STH 688, STH 729, STH 840). The examined naked grain oats differ considerably from husked grain oats in their chemical composition. A statistically significantly higher content of protein (P  0.05), a higher level of fat (P  0.01) and a lower value of crude fibre (P  0.01) were observed in the grains of naked oats compared with the husked grains. The protein of oats is characterised by a favourable amino acid composition of high quality protein which can be confirmed by the EAAI values. The first amino acid limiting the nutritive value of protein was lysine in nearly all oat samples. The characteristic feature of the Polar cultivar was isoleucine deficit. The positive nutritive values for oat grains, in particular those for naked oat grains, make it possible to use them as food for humans and feed for monogastric animals.

Introduction

Owing to its particular chemical composition and nutritive and physiological values, oat grain is the object of extensive studies. Oat grain is characterised by a good taste, dietetic properties and an activity stimulating metabolic changes in the body. All this makes its nutritive value high for both people and animals (Brand and Merwe, 1996, Lia et al., 1997, Peltonen-Sainio et al., 2004, Peterson, 2004).

Genetic removal of the glumes from oat grain considerably improved its chemical composition. The fact that naked oat cultivars with very good agriculturally useful features were brought into cultivation has enabled ecological farms to produce high quality biological foodstuff and complete feed for animals. According to the intended use, cereals recommended for cultivation in ecological agriculture should be characterised by a yellow grain, a high content of protein, a good composition of amino acids, a good milling and baking capacity for the foodstuff industry, a high content of digestible protein and a small crude fibre content for animal fodder.

In comparison with other cereals, naked oat grain is characterised by a larger amount of total protein and crude fat and a smaller one of crude fibre. The characteristic feature of protein is its good amino acid composition with a high nutritive value. A high level of fat is a good source of essential unsaturated fatty acids. Studies by Brand and Merwe (1996) and Petkov et al. (2001) proved that naked oat cultivars have a higher nutritive protein value than that of other cereals, although lysine is still the limiting amino acid.

Poland is ranked fifth in the world for oats' yields. In Poland, only spring oats are cultivated and their crop potential reaches 5–6 t/ha. The yields of naked oat grains are about 22% lower (Drozd et al., 2004). Significant progress has been observed in the breeding of new oat cultivars and strains. A new strategy of oat improvement has led to an increase in the yields and the content of protein in grain. Numerous biotechnological and biochemical studies on the shortened culm have been carried out. Due to the dwarfism genes introduced from the Bandicoot cultivar into the lines and strains of Polish high-yielding naked grain forms, strains were obtained which in initial experiments yielded about 20% more than the registered naked grain cultivars.

Bearing all this in mind, studies were undertaken to compare the chemical composition and the nutritive value of protein in standard naked oat cultivars (Polar) and husked oats (Bohun) as well as in the strains which gave the best yields in experiments.

Section snippets

Raw material

11 samples of oats from the 2005 crop of the field experiment carried out in RSD Lipnik (Lipnik Agricultural Experimental Station) near Stargard Szczeciński (Poland) were examined. The experiment was carried out on a light soil of the IVb botanical class, using 550 grains/m2 and 90 kg N/ha. Naked oat grains were represented by a standard Polar cultivar and 5 strains (STH 6102, STH 6856, STH 7146, STH 7256, STH 1692), whereas husked grains were represented by a standard Bohun cultivar and 4 strains

Results and discussion

The contents of basic nutritive components in the examined oat grains are illustrated in Table 1. Due to the lack of glumes, the grain of naked oats differs significantly from that of husked grain oats in respect of its chemical composition and nutritive value.

The characteristic feature of naked grain oats has a statistically significant (P  0.05) higher content of total protein than in husked grains (on average 143.4 and 115.0 g/kg, respectively). Among the naked grain strains, STH 6856 is

Acknowledgements

Authors wish to thank I. Jaskowska and L. Kowalczyk for their help with chemical analysis. We are also grateful to Dr. Z. Nita of the Strzelce Plant Breeding Station for his co-operation and provision of samples.

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