Oat lipids

Oats are a significant world crop. While nutritional interest in food oats has concentrated on oats as a source of dietary fiber, the lipid component has both nutritional and technological potential. Thus, the lipid fraction of the oat grain determines in large measure its energy content and has a s ignificant impact on nutritional quality. The oat lipids mediate the pastin g properties of oat starch and hence influence functionality. Lipids are al so implicated in the flavor/off-flavor attributes of oats. These aspects of oat lipids are reviewed together with analytical methods for assessing the lipid content of oats.