Combined molecular spectroscopic techniques (SR-FTIR, XRF, ATR-FTIR) to study physiochemical and nutrient profiles of Avena sativa grain and nutrition and structure interactive association properties

Abstract

Synchrotron radiation based on Fourier transform infrared radiation (SR-FTIR), X-ray fluorescence (XRF) and attenuated total reflection based on Fourier transform infrared radiation (ATR-FTIR) spectroscopy are both fast determining and minimal sample preparing techniques. They are capable of detecting the internal molecular structures. However, these techniques are still not well understood by nutrition researchers for the analysis of feed. The purpose of this review is to introduce advanced SR-FTIR, XRF, and ATR-FTIR molecular techniques, use these techniques to study chemical and nutrient profiles of Avena sativa grain, and lastly to study the nutrition and structure interactive association properties. The review mainly focuses on the following aspects: 1) the background information of Avena sativa grain; its history, chemical composition, nutrient profile, inherent structure, and production; 2) molecular spectroscopic techniques; principles and spectral analysis methodology of SR-FTIR, XRF and ATR-FTIR; 3) the application of SR-FTIR, XRF, and ATR-FTIR as a novel approach. This review provides an insight on how molecular spectroscopic techniques could be used for the study of nutrition and structure interactive association properties

Keywords:

• Physiochemical properties
• molecular structure
• nutrient profiles
• Avena sativa grain
• SR-FTIR
• XRF
• ATR-FTIR

Acknowledgements

The Ministry of Agriculture Strategic Research Chair Programs fund from the Prairie Oat Growers Association (POGA), the Saskatchewan Pulse Growers (SPG), the Natural Sciences and Engineering Research Council of Canada (NSERC-Individual Discovery Grant and NSERC-CRD Grant), the SaskCanola, the Saskatchewan Agriculture Strategic Research Chair Program Fund, the Agricultural Development Fund (ADF), the SaskMilk, the Saskatchewan Forage Network (SNK), the Western Grain Research Foundation (WGRF) etc are acknowledged. Ganqi Deng is financially supported by the China Scholarship Council (CSC) in terms of a PhD scholarship for his study in Professor Dr. Peiqiang Yu’s laboratory at the University of Saskatchewan, Canada. The National Synchrotron Light Source in Brookhaven National Laboratory (NSLS-BNL, New York, USA) and Advanced Light Source in Berkeley National Laboratory (ALS-BNL) are supported by the U.S. Department of Energy. Canadian Light Source Inc. at University of Saskatchewan (Saskatoon, Canada) is supported by various Canadian federal and provincial funds.

Conflicts of interest

The authors declare no conflict of interest.