Grain amaranth is known as an alternative crop with exclusive nutritional value and health benefits. The purpose of this study was to investigate the effect of gamma irradiation on quantitative and qualitative amaranth seed traits, including 1000-seed weight, amino acids, fatty acids content, oil, and squalene yield. Two Slovak mutant varieties “Pribina” (A. cruentus) and “Zobor” (A.hypochondriacus x A. hybridus) were evaluated and compared to nonirradiated controls Ficha (A. cruentus L.) and K-433 (A. hypochondriacus x A. hybridus) and commercial varieties, Aztec (A. cruentus L.), Plainsman and Koniz (A. hypochondriacus x A. hybridus). Mutant varieties, “Pribina” and “Zobor”, showed superior 1000-seed weight performance compared to all investigated amaranth samples. The change in quantitative seed trait was accompanied by significantly higher oil and squalene content compared to commercial varieties. Moreover, significantly higher content of essential linoleic acid was detected in mutant variety “Zobor”. The present findings suggest that seeds of irradiation-derived varieties have high nutritional potential and can be used as a supplementary crop in the human diet.
Six Amaranthus species (A. cruentus, A. hybridus, A. hypochondriacus, A. muricatus, A. tuberculatus, and A. viridis) were collected in Italy (wild habitats) from crops and roadsides. Amaranth seed oil was extracted to obtain fractions rich in squalene. Squalene, free fatty acid, tocopherol, and sterol composition and content were investigated in detail. An analysis of variance and principal components was performed. The oil content in the seed ranged from 5.17% (A. muricatus) to 12.20% (A. tuberculatus). The quantity of squalene in the oil varied from 3.43% (A. muricatus) to 6.09% (A. hypochondriacus). The primary sterols were beta-sitosterol, brassicasterol, campesterol, and stigmasterol. The main tocopherols in all the samples were alfa-tocopherol, beta-tocopherol, and delta-tocopherol. Our results exhibited that the smallest seeds (A. tuberculatus) have the highest percentages of oil and squalene, whereas the largest seeds size (A. muricatus) show the lowest percentages. There is also evidence that the samples growing at lower altitudes show the highest concentration of fatty acids. According to our results, the six wild Amaranthus species exhibited similar characteristics to commercial species. This study confirms that the site of the collection has an impact on the oil and squalene content of the Amaranthus species.
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