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ARS chemist Mitchell Wise is studying environmental factors that influence how oats produce avenanthramide, a potent antioxidant that is part of what gives oats a reputation for health benefits. Click the image for more information about it.

New USDA cereal crops laboratory dedicated   New heart-healthy oat now available

Studies Provide Insight into Key Oat Chemical

By Stephanie Yao
February 1, 2010

Studies conducted by Agricultural Research Service (ARS) scientists are helping to increase understanding about the environmental factors that regulate avenanthramide (Avn) production in oat grain.

Avns, metabolites with potent antioxidant properties, are one reason oats have been widely touted for their many health benefits. The specific purpose of Avns inside the oat plant is still largely unknown, but previous studies have found an increased production of Avns in oat leaves when the plant is attacked by a fungus. This finding leads researchers to believe that Avns help oat plants fight off these fungi.

Chemist Mitchell Wise with the ARS Cereal Crops Research Unit in Madison, Wis., teamed up with fellow chemist Doug Doehlert with the ARS Red River Valley Agricultural Research Center in Fargo, N.D., to examine the correlation between disease pressure and Avn concentration in the oat grain.

The scientists tested 16 oat cultivars and two breeding lines at three locations in North Dakota over a two- year period. They found that oat plants with the strongest crown rust resistance typically had the highest Avn concentrations in environments where crown rust occurred. They also found that Avn production is likely influenced by additional environmental factors, because not all cultivars with strong crown rust resistance produced high Avn concentrations. Details of this study can be found in the scientific journal Cereal Chemistry.

Still, according to Wise, the results suggest that oat breeders—taking into account crown rust pressure during growth—can select certain cultivars for enhanced production of Avns.

Wise is also further researching the biosynthesis of Avns in the laboratory. He developed a suspension culture system from oat shoot tissue in which Avns are produced in response to a chemical that mimics fungal infection. This useful tool can be used for more detailed investigation into how certain Avns are produced.

Read more about this research in the February 2010 issue of Agricultural Research magazine.

ARS is the principal intramural scientific research agency of the U.S. Department of Agriculture (USDA). This research supports the USDA priorities of improving nutrition and health and promoting international food security.