Content and molecular weight of extractable beta-glucan in American and Swedish oat samples

beta-(1-->3),(1-->4)-D-GIucan (beta-glucan) was extracted from 93 Swedish and 41 American oat samples using hot water containing CaCl2 and thermostable (x-amylase. The samples showed a large variation in both the content of extractable beta-glucan (0.76-3.68%) and the average molecular weight ((1.25-1.78) x 10(6) g mol(-1)). An analysis of the variance of beta-glucan content and the molecular weight of Swedish oat samples grown in 2000 and 2001 was done with cultivar and harvest year as factors. It showed that the extractable P-glucan content was a heritable trait whereas molecular weight depended more on environmental factors. The American oat samples had a higher average content of extractable beta-glucan (2.24%) and a somewhat higher average molecular weight (1.58 x 10(6) g mol(-1)) than the Swedish oat samples (1.43% and 1.49 X 10(6) g Mol(-1)).