Functional oat fractions for healthy food products

Oat is a superior source of soluble fibre plus phytochemicals, unsaturated fatty acids and high-quality protein. The consumers are aware of the health-promoting properties of oat, and the physiological effects of oat ?-glucans are well-documented. Pre-treatments such as germination can be used to further increase the amount of some specific bioactive compounds. Different types of commercial ?-glucan fractions are available on the global market, but the use of other potential oat fractions like oat protein, starch and oil is very limited at the moment. One reason for this is that the available fractionation processes of oat are not always technologically feasible and only some of the fractions meet the needed quality. A novel fractionation process has been developed for oat in order to improve the technological and functional properties of oat fractions including different types of high fibre and protein fractions, starch, oil and polar lipid fractions and a phenolic fraction. The benefits of these fractions and their applicability in health-promoting food products will be discussed