FATTY-ACID COMPOSITION OF LIPIDS OF AUSTRALIAN OATS

A method using methanolic sulphuric acid as transmethylating reagent w as developed for determining the fatty acid composition of lipids of o ats. The method was optimised for reaction conditions and applied to t he determination of the fatty acid composition of lipids of a number o f varieties of Australian oats grown in several locations. Thirteen fa tty acids were detected with oleic, linoleic and palmitic acids compri sing more than 95% of the total fatty acids. Total lipid content of th e oats was positively related to the proportion of stearic (r=0.32) an d oleic (r=0.81) acids and negatively correlated with the proportion o f palmitic (r= -0.64), linoleic (r= -0.39) and linolenic (r= -0.65) ac ids. Significant positive correlations were found between total lipid content and absolute content of the major fatty acids (r=0.67 similar to 0.98), except for linolenic acid (r=0.12). Environment had signific ant effects on fatty acid composition, but variety was the controlling factor. The broad sense heritability estimated from individual plot r anged from 69 to 73% and that from the average of three replications a nd eight locations ranged from 94 to 98% for the major fatty acids. It is possible to improve fatty acid composition of oats by breeding pro cedures. (C) 1998 Academic Press.