Wild Oats

Avena sativa L., commonly known as Wild Oat, is a cereal grain grown for its seed, contained in the green or rapidly dried aerial part of the plant and harvested just before reaching full flower. It bridges the gap between herbs and food.

Oat originated in Europe as a secondary weed of wheat and barley that eventually led to its domestication and cultivation as a dietary staple. The word Avena is derived from the Sanskrit word “avi,” meaning “sheep” or “avasa” meaning “foodstuff.” Whole oats have a hard hull that must be removed for the seed to be digestible.

Hulled oats are called “groats.” Steelcut oats are prepared by passing groats through steel blades that chop each one into three or four pieces. Since they contain both the whole grain and oat bran they are more nutritious. Rolled oats are made by steaming the groats and flattening them with a roller. Instant oats are steamed longer and rolled more thinly.

Oat has been traditionally used throughout the world for medicinal properties, as a nervine, sedative, antispasmodic, demulcent, diuretic, vulnerary, and tonic. It is a classic restorative tonic. Eclectic and Physio-medical practitioners used the extract of the green oat seed “in the milk” for supporting many nervous conditions, for supporting healthy sleep patterns, and maintaining health nerves while in recovery from various addictions (mainly morphine and opium during the late 1800s). Preparations of oats have been applied topically for eczema.

Constituents Of Wild Oats

The constituents of Avena have been well-characterized. It is a rich source of protein, contains important minerals, lipids, β-glucans , a mixed-linkage polysaccharide, and various phytochemicals such as avenanthramides, an indole alkaloid (gramine), flavonoids, flavonolignans, triterpenoid saponins, sterols, and tocols. Avena displays a wide spectrum of biological activities: anti-inflammatory, antioxidant, wound healing, immunomodulatory, anti-diabetic, hypocholesterolemic.

Several studies have shown the beneficial effects of Avena in hypertension, hyperlipidemia, atherosclerosis and diabetes. The FDA approves a health claim that the use of dietary fiber containing oat β-glucan reduces glycemic and cholesterol responses .

The hypolipidemic mechanism of oat soluble fiber has not been entirely elucidated. However, the viscous properties of β-glucan are hypothesized to slow absorption of nutrients and increase bile acid secretion, suggesting that the physiologic response is physical rather than biochemical.

The antioxidant effect of Avena, demonstrated in several studies is probably due to its polar phenolic compounds, including the avenanthramides, which have shown protection of LDL cholesterol against oxidation in animals.

7 Other controlled animal studies have shown that oats-enriched diet resulted in decreases in total cholesterol, LDL-cholesterol, and triglycerides and increases in HDL-cholesterol. Oat (Avena sativa L.) and amaranth (Amaranthus hypochondriacus) meals positively affect lipid profile in rats fed cholesterol-containing diets.

Summary

Numerous experimental and clinical studies have shown that Avena has a wide spectrum of therapeutic uses, including antioxidant, antiatherogenic, hypolipidemic, anti-inflammatory, and wound healing. It has shown efficacy in inflammatory skin conditions, cardiovascular and celiac diseases, and in improving cognitive function.
However, clinical trials with oats preparations are of relatively recent origin and have been conducted with relatively small numbers of participants. The possible therapeutic benefits of oats in case of hyperlipidemia, cardiovascular disease and skin disease deserve further study cannot be considered conclusive and deserved further investigation in well-designed trials.