Amaranth Seed Polyphenol, Fatty Acid and Amino Acid Profile

Ovidiu Procopet,Mircea Oroian

doi:10.3390/app12042181

Abstract

In this paper, the extraction of polyphenols from amaranth seed using a Box–Benhken design using four factors—ultra-turrax speed, solid-to-liquid ratio (RSL), methanol concentration and extraction time—were studied. There were two responses studied for the model: total phenolic content (TPC) and total flavonoid content (TFC). The factors which influenced the most the extraction of the TPC and TFC were the RSL, methanol concentration and ultra-turrax speed. Twelve phenolic acids (rosmarinic acid, p-coumaric acid, chlorogenic acid, vanillic acid, caffeic acid, p-hydroxybenzoic acid, protocatechuic acid and gallic acid) and flavonoids (kaempferol, quercetin, luteolin and myricetin) were studied, and the most abundant one was kaempferol followed by myricetin. The amaranth seed is a valuable source of fatty acids, and 16.54% of the total fatty acids determined were saturated fatty acids, while 83.45% of the fatty acids were unsaturated ones. Amaranth seed is a valuable source of amino acids, with 9 essential amino acids being reported: histidine, isoleucine, leucine, lysine, methionine, phenylalanine, threonine, tryptophan and valine.

Highlights

Amaranth is a pseudo-cereal which is known to have a high nutritional value thanks to its amino acids, fiber, trace elements, vitamins, flavonoids, phenolic compounds and polyunsaturated fatty acids [1,2]
total flavonoid content (TFC)), three parameters (ultra-turrax speed, solid-to-liquid ratio (RSL) and methanol concentration) presented significant linear effects (p < 0.05), and the linear effects were higher in the case of the total phenolic content (TPC) than the TFC
Amaranth seed can be considered a valuable source of polyphenols and fatty acids

Summary

Introduction

Amaranth is a pseudo-cereal which is known to have a high nutritional value thanks to its amino acids, fiber, trace elements, vitamins, flavonoids, phenolic compounds and polyunsaturated fatty acids [1,2]. Amaranth seed is rich in different bioactive and nutritional compounds such as tocopherols, sterols, squalene, fatty acids, phenolic acids, flavonoids (as free molecules of conjugated molecules with sugars or linked to proteins in a complex matrix through covalent or non-covalent links), dietary fibers and peptides [3,4,5,6]. Amaranth seeds, considered to be pseudo-cereals, are characterized by high nutritional and functional values, associated with the antioxidant quality and quantity of proteins and lipids [2,8,9]. Amaranth seed production has become more and more popular among the people interested in their own health and especially among high performance athletes as a consequence of a change in their eating habits [2]

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