Variability in α-tocopherol concentration of husked and naked oat genotypes

Oat (Avena sativa L.) is recognised as a healthy food in the world. Oat contains significant amounts of fat-soluble vitamin E (α-tocopherol), a substance with high antioxidant activity. The main tasks of this study were to characterise the variability of α-tocopherol concentration of oat varieties and breeding lines bred in Latvia and foreign countries. Field trials were carried out at the State Stende Cereal Breeding Institute in 2007 and 2008. Sixty four oat genotypes (52 husked and 12 naked) were tested for α-tocopherol using high-performance liquid-chromatography. The obtained results showed a wide range of α-tocopherol concentration among both husked and naked oat genotypes. The α-tocopherol concentration in husked oat varieties and lines varied from 3.2 to 8.4 mg kg^-1and for naked oat from 5.5 to 8.8 mg kg^-1. The wide range of α-tocopherol concentration in oat grown in Latvia showed that there is wide choice of material for breeding programmes and that further research should be carried out in future.