Search

Germination was used as a tool to produce new, healthy and tasty food ingredients from oats.With the developed short germination programme combined with heat treatment the stability of oats during storage was improved and the amount of bioactive compounds was increased.However, the content and molecular weight of oat b-glucans was only slightly influenced.The improvement in storage stability was seen as a slower formation of lipid originated aldehydes and retarded develoment of rancid flavors in germinated oats during storage. Antioxidativity, sterol content and the content of oat specific phenolic compounds, avenantramides, were increased significantly during germination. Some increase was also seen in vitamin content.The increase in bioactive compounds was especially seen in the studied naked cultivar Lisbeth.