Cereal Chem 66:296-300   |  VIEW ARTICLE

Genetic and Environmental Variation in Oil Content and Fatty Acid Composition of Oats.

M. Saastamoinen, J. Kumpulainen, and S. Numella. Copyright 1989 by the American Association of Cereal Chemists, Inc. 

Oil content and fatty acid composition of oat varieties and breeding lines were studied in nine trials at six locations in two years. All samples contained palmitic, stearic, oleic, linoleic, linolenic, and eicosenoic acids. Myristic, palmitoleic, arachidic, and erucic acids were found in most samples at low concentrations. Low growth temperature increased the overall lipid synthesis; 65.2% of the variation in oil content could be explained by mean temperatures of growing time of oat varieties or lines. Low temperature increased the synthesis of oleic and linoleic acids and decreased the concentrations of palmitic, stearic, and erucic acids. Small but significant differences in oil content and fatty acid composition were found between the oat varieties studied. Lower linoleic acid concentration was associated with higher oleic acid concentration. Especially high negative correlations were found between oleic and linoleic acid contents in different trials (r = -0.755, P less than 0.05; to r = -0.911, P less than 0.001), which can be explained by the synthesis of linoleic acid by successive desaturation from oleic acid. Significant negative correlations prevailed, also, between oleic and linolenic acid (r = -0.401 to -0.832, P less than 0.01) and stearic and eicosenoic acid ( r = -0.019 to -0.833, P less than 0.001) concentrations. The correlation coefficients between linoleic and linolenic acid concentrations were positive (r = 0.278 to 0.714, P less than 0.05).