Nutritional and functional properties of oats: An update

Abstract

Abstract: With snowballing interest in eating for health in the developed world coupled with the endemic obesity problem, much attention is being directed towards delivering soluble fibers to the consumer through food. Cereal foods are obvious and major sources of healthy soluble and insoluble fiber grown over 73 % of the total global harvested area. These contribute to over 60% of the world food production providing about 50 percent of protein and energy necessary for the human diet. Oats provide more protein, fiber, iron and zinc than other whole grains. They have high nutritive value both for people and animals because of good taste and an activity of stimulating metabolic changes in the body. Oats are said to be unique among cereals as they are therapeutically active against diabetes, dyslipidemia, hypertension, inflammatory state and vascular injury than other grains which are predominantly insoluble, such as wheat or rice. This review highlights the nutritional value of oats, β-glucan in them as biologically defense modifier, their mode of action against various diseases and enlists various fermented and non-fermented products of oats available in market.