Oats

<p>The common <b >oat</b> (<i ><b>Avena sativa</b></i>) is a <a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Species" title="Species" >species</a> of <a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Cereal" title="Cereal" >cereal grain</a> <a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Agriculture" title="Agriculture" >grown</a> for its seed, which is known by the same name (usually in the plural, unlike other grains). While oats are suitable for human consumption as<a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Oatmeal" title="Oatmeal" >oatmeal</a> and <a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Rolled_oats" title="Rolled oats" >rolled oats</a>, one of the most common uses is as <a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Livestock" title="Livestock" >livestock</a> feed. Oats make up a part of the daily diet of <a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Horse" title="Horse" >horses</a>, about 20% of daily intake or smaller, and are regularly fed to <a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Cattle" title="Cattle" >cattle</a> as well. Oats are also used in some brands of dog food and <a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Chicken" title="Chicken" >chicken</a> feed. Oat seeds are commonly marketed as <b >cat grass</b> to cat enthusiasts, since cats readily harvest and eat tender young oat, wheat, and some other grass sprouts.<sup id="cite_ref-0" class="reference" ><a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Oat#cite_note-0" >[1]</a></sup>

 </p>

<h2 >Health</h2>

Oat grains in their <a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Husk" title="Husk" >husks</a></div>

</div>

<p >Oats are generally considered "healthful", or a <a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Health_food" title="Health food" >health food</a>, being touted commercially as nutritious. The discovery of the healthy <a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Cholesterol" title="Cholesterol" >cholesterol</a>-lowering properties has led to wider appreciation of oats as human food.</p>

<h3 >[<a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/w/index.php?title=Oat&action=edit&section=5" title="Edit section: Soluble fibre" >edit</a>]Soluble fibre</h3>

<p >Oat <a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Bran" title="Bran" >bran</a> is the outer casing of the oat. Its consumption is believed to lower <a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Low-density_lipoprotein" title="Low-density lipoprotein" >LDL</a> ("bad") <a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Cholesterol" title="Cholesterol" >cholesterol</a>, and possibly to reduce the risk of <a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Heart_disease" title="Heart disease" class="mw-redirect" >heart disease</a>.

Oats contain more soluble fibre than any other grain, resulting in slower digestion and an extended sensation of fullness.<sup class="Template-Fact" >[<i><a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Wikipedia:Citation_needed" title="Wikipedia:Citation needed" >citation needed</a></i>]</sup> One type of soluble fibre, <a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Beta-glucan" title="Beta-glucan" >beta-glucans</a>, has proven to help lower cholesterol.

After reports of research finding that dietary oats can help lower cholesterol,<sup id="cite_ref-7" class="reference" ><a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Oat#cite_note-7" >[8]</a></sup> an "oat bran craze" swept the U.S. in the late 1980s, peaking in 1989, when <a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Potato_chip" title="Potato chip" >potato chips</a> with added oat bran were marketed. The food fad was short-lived and faded by the early 1990s. The popularity of oatmeal and other oat products again increased after a January 1998 decision by the <a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Food_and_Drug_Administration" title="Food and Drug Administration" >Food and Drug Administration</a> (FDA), when it issued a final rule that allows food companies to make a <a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Health_claims_on_food_labels" title="Health claims on food labels" >health claim</a> on labels of foods that contain soluble fibre from whole oats (oat bran, oat flour and rolled oats), noting that 3.00 grams of soluble fibre daily from these foods may reduce the risk of <a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Heart_disease" title="Heart disease" class="mw-redirect" >heart disease</a>. To qualify for the health claim, the whole oat-containing food must provide at least 0.75 grams of soluble fibre per serving. A class of <a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Polysaccharide" title="Polysaccharide" >polysaccharides</a>known as beta-D-glucans comprise the soluble fibre in whole oats.

Beta-D-glucans, usually referred to as beta-glucans, comprise a class of indigestible polysaccharides widely found in nature in sources such as grains, <a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Barley" title="Barley" >barley</a>, <a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Yeast" title="Yeast" >yeast</a>, <a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Bacteria" title="Bacteria" >bacteria</a>, <a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Algae" title="Algae" >algae</a> and <a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Mushroom" title="Mushroom" >mushrooms</a>. In oats, barley and other cereal grains, they are located primarily in the <a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Endosperm" title="Endosperm" >endosperm</a> <a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Cell_wall" title="Cell wall" >cell wall</a>.

Oat beta-glucan is a soluble fibre. It is a viscous polysaccharide made up of units of the monosaccharide D-<a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Glucose" title="Glucose" >glucose</a>. Oat beta-glucan is composed of mixed-linkage polysaccharides. This means the <a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Chemical_bond" title="Chemical bond" >bonds</a> between the D-glucose or D-glucopyranosyl units are either beta-1, 3 linkages or beta-1, 4 linkages. This type of beta-glucan is also referred to as a mixed-linkage (1→3), (1→4)-beta-D-glucan. The (1→3)-linkages break up the uniform structure of the beta-D-glucan molecule and make it soluble and flexible. In comparison, the indigestible polysaccharide <a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Cellulose" title="Cellulose" >cellulose</a> is also a beta-glucan, but is not soluble. The reason it is insoluble is that cellulose consists only of (1→4)-beta-D-linkages. The percentages of beta-glucan in the various whole oat products are: oat bran, greater than 5.5% and up to 23.0%; rolled oats, about 4%; and whole oat flour about 4%.

Oats, after corn (<a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Maize" title="Maize" >maize</a>), have the highest <a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Lipid" title="Lipid" >lipid</a> content of any cereal, e.g., greater than 10% for oats and as high as 17% for some maize cultivars compared to about two to three per cent for wheat and most other cereals. The polar <a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Lipid" title="Lipid" >lipid</a> content of oats (about 8–17% glycolipid and 10–20% phospholipid or a total of about 33%) is greater than that of other cereals, since much of the lipid fraction is contained within the endosperm.</p>

<h3 >[<a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/w/index.php?title=Oat&action=edit&section=6" title="Edit section: Protein" >edit</a>]Protein</h3>

<tbody>

<tr>

<th colspan="2" >Nutritional value per 100 g (3.5 oz)</th>

</tr>

<tr >

<th ><a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Food_energy" title="Food energy" >Energy</a></th>

</tr>

<tr>

<th ><a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Carbohydrate" title="Carbohydrate" >Carbohydrates</a></th>

</tr>

<tr>

<th >- <a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Dietary_fiber" title="Dietary fiber" >Dietary fibre</a></th>

</tr>

<tr>

</tr>

<tr>

<th ><a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Protein_(nutrient)" title="Protein (nutrient)" >Protein</a></th>

</tr>

<tr>

<td ><a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Pantothenic_acid" title="Pantothenic acid" >Pantothenic acid</a> (B<sub >5</sub>)</td>

</tr>

<tr>

<td ><a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Folate" title="Folate" class="mw-redirect" >Folate</a> (vit. B<sub >9</sub>)</td>

</tr>

<tr>

<td ><a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Calcium#Nutrition" title="Calcium" >Calcium</a></td>

</tr>

<tr>

</tr>

<tr>

<td ><a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Magnesium_in_biology" title="Magnesium in biology" >Magnesium</a></td>

</tr>

<tr>

<td ><a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Potassium#Potassium_in_the_diet_and_by_supplement" title="Potassium" >Potassium</a></td>

</tr>

<tr>

<th >β-glucan (soluble fibre) </th>

</tr>

<tr >

<td colspan="2" >Percentages are relative to

<a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Dietary_Reference_Intake" title="Dietary Reference Intake" >US recommendations</a> for adults.

<small>Source: <a rel="nofollow" class="external text" href="http://www.nal.usda.gov/fnic/foodcomp/search/" >USDA Nutrient Database</a></small></td>

</tr>

</tbody></table>

<p >Oats are the only <a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Cereal" title="Cereal" >cereal</a> containing a <a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Globulin" title="Globulin" >globulin</a> or <a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Legume" title="Legume" >legume</a>-like protein, <a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/w/index.php?title=Avenalin&action=edit&redlink=1" class="new" title="Avenalin (page does not exist)" >avenalin</a>, as the major (80%) storage protein.<sup id="cite_ref-8" class="reference" ><a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Oat#cite_note-8" >[9]</a></sup> Globulins are characterised by solubility in dilute saline. The more typical cereal proteins, such as <a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Gluten" title="Gluten" >gluten</a> and <a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Zein" title="Zein" >zein</a>, are <a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Prolamin" title="Prolamin" >prolamines</a> (prolamins). The minor protein of oat is a prolamine, avenin.

Oat protein is nearly equivalent in quality to <a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Soy_protein" title="Soy protein" >soy protein</a>, which <a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/World_Health_Organization" title="World Health Organization" >World Health Organization</a> research has shown is equal to meat, milk, and egg protein.<sup id="cite_ref-9" class="reference" ><a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Oat#cite_note-9" >[10]</a></sup> The protein content of the hull-less oat kernel (<a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Groats" title="Groats" class="mw-redirect" >groat</a>) ranges from 12 to 24%, the highest among cereals.</p>

<h3 >[<a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/w/index.php?title=Oat&action=edit&section=7" title="Edit section: Coeliac disease" >edit</a>]Coeliac disease</h3>

<p ><a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Coeliac_disease" title="Coeliac disease" >Coeliac disease (celiac disease)</a> is often associated with the ingestion of <a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Wheat" title="Wheat" >wheat</a>, or more specifically, a group of proteins labelled prolamines, or more commonly, <a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Gluten" title="Gluten" >gluten</a>. Oats lack many of the prolamines found in wheat; however, oats do contain avenin.<sup id="cite_ref-10" class="reference" ><a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Oat#cite_note-10" >[11]</a></sup> Avenin is a prolamine that is toxic to the intestinal mucosa of avenin-sensitive individuals, and can trigger a reaction in these coeliacs.<sup id="cite_ref-11" class="reference" ><a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Oat#cite_note-11" >[12]</a></sup></p>

Oats

Attachments