Variation in oat groats due to variety, storage and heat treatment .1. Phenolic compounds

Low molecular weight phenolic compounds present in heat processed oats (Avena sativa L) were analysed. The oat grains were of three varieties (Kapp, Mustang and Svea), stored at different relative humidities (30, 55 or 80%) and periods (3.5 or 15.5 months) and processed with or without hulls. Eleven UV-absorbing compounds detected by High performance Liquid Chromatography were subjected to univariate and multivariate statistical analysis. The selected compounds included caffeic acid, p-coumaric acid, ferulic acid, vanillic acid, p-hydroxybenzaldehyde, vanillin, coniferyl alcohol, three avenanthramides and one unidentified substance. The levels of vanillic acid, vanillin and, especially, p-coumaric acid, p-hydroxybenzaldehyde and coniferyl alcohol increased significantly in samples processed with hulls, but not in samples processed without hulls. Ferulic acid increased in both processes, while caffeic acid and the avenanthramides were found to decrease during processing. Storage of unprocessed samples for 1 year generally increased the levels of phenolic acids and aldehydes. For the phenolic acids (except ferulic acid), this increase was most pronounced after storage at high relative humidity (80%). The avenanthramides were present at their highest levels in Mustang, caffeic acid in Svea and Mustang, the unidentified compound in Svea, while all the other compounds studied were present predominantly in the variety Kapp. (C) 1996 Academic Press Limited