Detection of the lunasin peptide in oats (Avena sativa L)

We report the first discovery of lunasin in oats (Avena sativa L). Lunasin is a novel cancer preventive, anti-inflammatory and cholesterol-reducing peptide originally isolated from soy and later found in cereals (barley, rye, wheat, triticale). Lunasin was detected in oats using LC–MS/MS analysis. The chromatograms and mass spectra of lunasin isolated from five oat genotypes were compared with those of the synthetic lunasin peptide. We measured the lunasin content in harvests of two years and found that all tested oat genotypes contained the lunasin peptide. However, we observed genotype-related fluctuations in the lunasin content. Notably, the middle early oat variety ‘Ivory’ contained the…