Oat grains, untapped reservoir of nutrients and phytochemicals, are very beneficial for food and feed. β-glucan content of sixteen derivative hexaploid lines, derivative of interspecific crosses between two tetraploid oat species A. magna and/or A. murphyi with five Moroccan hexaploid oat cultivars of A. sativa, aiming the improvement of their groat nutritive value, was accurately assessed. The new developed lines as well as their hexaploid oat parents were tested for agronomic performance under Moroccan climatic conditions in two different locations. Groat’s composition analysis has revealed that β-glucan content ranged from 1,37% to 6,05%. Significant β-glucan contents were detected for the cultivar Zahri (6,05±1,19) followed by the lines A. magna F11-4 (magxsat) (5,77±0,20)%, F11-5 (magxsat) (5,79±0,31)%, and F11-8 (magxsat) (5,55±0,41)%. The obtained results indicated that these lines are very promising. Furthermore, substantial differences among cultivars and lines over locations were observed and therefore, the genetic variability, the environmental conditions and their interaction has exerted statistically high significant effects on the groat β-glucan content (p < 0,0001). Thus, four among sixteen assessed lines which present high β-glucan content could be conceived for human consumption. These results confirm the success of acheived crosses and enhances the valorization of oats owing to its high content in β-glucans and other nutraceutical substances. Keywords: Oat, β-glucan content, tetraploid oat, A. magna, A. murphyi, hexaploid oat, A. sativa, genotype x environmental conditions
