title: Nutritional advantages of oats and opportunities for its processing as value added foods - a review.
abstract: Oats (Avena sativa L.) have received considerable attention for their high content of dietary fibres, phytochemicals and nutritional value. It is believed that consumption of oats possesses various health benefits such as hypocholesterolaemic and anticancerous properties. Oats have also recently been considered suitable in the diet of celiac patients. Owing to their high nutritional value, oat-based food products like breads, biscuits, cookies, probiotic drinks, breakfast cereals, flakes and infant food are gaining increasing consideration. Research and development on oat and its products may be helpful in combating various diseases known to mankind. This paper provides an overview of the nutritional and health benefits provided by oats as whole grains and its value added products. It is designed to provide an insight on the processing of oats and its effect on their functional properties. The manuscript also reviews various uses of oats and its fractions for clinical and industrial purposes and in development of value added food products.
authors.affiliation: Centre of Food Science and Technology, Banaras Hindu University, Varanasi, 221 005 India.
authors.forename: Prasad
authors.initials: P
authors.lastname: Rasane
authors.affiliation: Centre of Food Science and Technology, Banaras Hindu University, Varanasi, 221 005 India.
authors.forename: Alok
authors.initials: A
authors.lastname: Jha
authors.affiliation: Dairy Technology Division, National Dairy Research Institute, Karnal, 132 001 India.
authors.forename: Latha
authors.initials: L
authors.lastname: Sabikhi
authors.affiliation: Centre of Food Science and Technology, Banaras Hindu University, Varanasi, 221 005 India.
authors.forename: Arvind
authors.initials: A
authors.lastname: Kumar
authors.affiliation: Centre of Food Science and Technology, Banaras Hindu University, Varanasi, 221 005 India.
authors.forename: V S
authors.initials: VS
authors.lastname: Unnikrishnan
keywords: Dietary fibre; Functional properties; Oats; Phytochemicals; Speciality foods