Fatty acid composition of grain from winter and spring sown oats, barley and wheat

Abstract

Abstract The fatty acid composition of grain has been studied in six varieties of oats, two of wheat and two of barley, sown in pots in an unheated glasshouse in winter and in spring. Differences were found between the species in composition and in their response to sowing date. Oats showed the greatest varietal variation in both total fatty acid (TFA) content and in the proportion of its component fatty acids. The content and degree of unsaturation of the oat TFA was higher in the winter sown than in the spring sown crop. Increases in the TFA content of oats, whether arising from differences in variety or sowing date, were generally followed by an increase in the proportion of oleic acid and a decrease in the proportions of palmitic and linoleic acid in the TFA. Winter sowing, as compared with spring, led to a small, but significant, decrease in the TFA content of barley and an increase in its degree of unsaturation. There were no significant changes in the content or composition of wheat TFA as a result of differences in sowing date. Factors influencing the differences in TFA content and composition between species, varieties and sowing dates are discussed.