Differences in Seed Weight, Amino Acid, Fatty Acid, Oil, and Squalene Content in γ-Irradiation-Developed and Commercial Amaranth Varieties (Amaranthus spp.)

Abstract

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.

Comparative Analysis Reveals Changes in Some Seed Properties in Amaranth Mutant Variety ‘Zobor’ (A. hypochondriacus × A. hybridus)

“…Pospišil et al [46] reported an average 1000-seed weight of 0.65-0.73 g for two amaranth species, which was significantly increased by nitrogen fertilization in the dry season. Compared to the commercial grain varieties Plainsman (0.71 g) and Koniz (0.69 g), the hybrid variety 'Zobor' showed 1000-seed weight up to 18% and 21% higher, respectively [23].…”

“…The increased seed size and yield could have a negative impact on the nutritional properties of amaranth seeds [47]. However, our previous studies [22,23,48] showed high nutritional quality of the amaranth germplasm obtained by γ-radiation with higher seed weight.…”

“…In addition to classical breeding and biotechnological approaches, genetic improvement of amaranth has also been attempted through radiation-induced mutagenesis. This approach has the potential to induce small genetic changes that can significantly affect critical agronomic traits [19][20][21][22][23]. Moreover, mutation breeding is a simple and cost-effective technology [24,25].…”

Effects of Germination and Popping on the Anti-Nutritional Compounds and the Digestibility of Amaranthus hypochondriacus Seeds

“…The weights obtained in this study (based on 100 seeds per sample) were similar to those reported by De Bock et al in 2021 [ 19 ]. Other authors have reported highly variable values, ranging from 0.03 to 0.79 g, including species such as Amaranthus hypochondriacus [ 20 , 21 , 22 ]. However, in the present study, 6–32% higher seed weight was noted for MX1 and PU compared to the other three samples, which is consistent with their larger seed sizes.…”

Nutritional Value, Bioactive Components and Antioxidant Activity of Schisandra chinensis (Turcz.) Baill. Leaves

“…The FAME profile was analyzed by gas chromatography (GC-6890-N, Agilent Technologies, Santa Clara, USA) equipped with capillary column DB-23 (60 m × 0.25 mm, film thickness 0.25 µm, Agilent Technologies, Santa Clara, CA, USA) and FID detector (250 °C; constant flow, hydrogen 40 mL/ min, air 450 mL/min.). A detailed description of the chromatography conditions is presented in the work Szabóová et al (2020). Standards of a C4-C24 FAME mixture (Supelco, Bellefonte, PA, USA) were applied in order to identify FAME peaks.…”