Evaluation of Phenolic Compounds and Carotenoids Content and Mycotoxins Occurrence in Grains of Seventeen Barley and Eight Oat Cultivars Grown under Organic Management

Featured Application The commercial offer of organic seeds on the market is limited and does not guarantee the selection of the appropriate cultivar. In this situation, cultivars available in the general offer of breeding companies and included in the register of agricultural plant cultivars in Poland are selected for cultivation on organic farms. Research carried out by the Research Centre for Cultivar Testing in Poland (COBORU) and recommendations of breeding companies do not take into account the evaluation of cultivars in the conditions of organic production, which hinders the correct selection and increases the risk of cultivation. Thus, our research provides important data contributing to the assessment of suitability of cultivars of two cereal species for cultivation in organic production conditions. The evaluation of a number of barley and oat cultivars produced in the organic system carried out in our experiment meets the expectations of producers, who can thus obtain valuable information on selected quality and safety features of individual cultivars, including the content of bioactive compounds, such as polyphenols and carotenoids, and the presence of mycotoxins in the grain. The results of the presented research on 17 barley and 8 oat cultivars may enable the organic producers to select cultivars characterized by high quality features, which are also expected by consumers, who increasingly search for high quality organic foods. Moreover, these results may be a premise for further research towards developing seed production aimed at organic producers. In recent decades, organic farming based on natural means and methods of production is gaining more and more popularity. It is due to the growing awareness of the society regarding the harmfulness of chemicals used in intensive agriculture, which influences the growing interest of both producers and consumers in organic food. Searching for plant cultivars performing best under organic management in terms of crop quality is one of the important research topics of the recent years. The aim of the present study was therefore to compare 8 oat and 17 barley cultivars grown in identical organic production conditions in terms of polyphenols and carotenoids contents and the mycotoxins contamination in grains. The analyses of bioactive compounds were performed using HPLC and the mycotoxins occurrence using LC-MS/MS methods. Among the barley cultivars studied, the grains of SU Lolek, Rubaszek and Podarek accumulated the highest content of polyphenols. Grain of Soldo cultivar was richest in carotenoids, but at the same time most of the mycotoxins identified within the study were found in the grains of this cultivar. In the case of oat, the highest content of polyphenols was found in the grain of Harnas, Nawigator and Arden cultivars, while Pascal and Amant grain was richest in carotenoids. Among all the oat cultivars tested, only Amant grain was free from the studied mycotoxins. These findings are important for producers as well as consumers, who search for quality organic foods.