Chemical composition and nutritive value of husked and naked oats grain

11 samples of oats from the 2005 crop of the field experiment carried out in RSD Lipnik were examined. Naked grain oats were represented by a standard Polar cultivar and 5 strains (STH 6102, STH 6856, STH 7146, STH 7256, STH 1692), whereas husked grains were represented by a standard Bohun cultivar and 4 strains (STH 684, STH 688, STH 729, STH 840). The examined naked grain oats differ considerably from husked grain oats in their chemical composition. A statistically significantly higher content of protein (P <= 0.05), a higher level of fat (P <= 0.01) and a lower value of crude fibre (P <= 0.01) were observed in the grains of naked oats compared with the husked grains. The protein of oats is characterised by a favourable amino acid composition of high quality protein which can be confirmed by the EAAI values. The first amino acid limiting the nutritive value of protein was lysine in nearly all oat samples. The characteristic feature of the Polar cultivar was isoleucine deficit. The positive nutritive values for oat grains, in particular those for naked oat grains, make it possible to use them as food for humans and feed for monogastric animals. (C) 2009 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.