Abstract
With the aim to explore the use of A. hypochondriacus seeds for animal feeding, the agronomic traits, nutrients, and bioactive compounds of four accessions with different origin (India, Nebraska, Iowa, and Pennsylvania) grown in a Mediterranean environment were studied. Proximate composition was determined using the official methods of analyses, fatty acid profile by gas chromatography, total phenolic content (TPC) and the scavenging activity (DPPH• and ABTS•+) by colorimetric method. A one-way ANOVA model was performed to determine the differences between accessions. The four A. hypochondriacus accessions showed interesting seed yield results. No significant differences were observed for crude protein and crude fiber; the oil content showed the significant highest values in the seeds from Nebraska and Pennsylvania, but their nutritional characteristics were significantly different. The accession from Nebraska showed the highest oleic and linoleic acid levels, the highest values of polyunsaturated fatty acids, the best atherogenic and thrombogenic indices and hypocholesterolemic/hypercholesterolaemic ratio, and the highest TPC content. The accession from Pennsylvania showed the highest antioxidant activity and lowest peroxidation index. On the whole, A. hypochondriacus seeds can be used as pseudo-cereal to balance the animal diet and the accession should be chosen according to the different metabolic pathways of unsaturated fatty acids in ruminant and monogastric animals.
Highlights
Amaranthus genus belongs to the Amaranthaceae family and is considered an invasive fast-growing species with a high capability of colonization due to the strategic adaptive seed germination [1,2]
The aim of this study is to characterize the agronomic characteristics, oil content, fatty profile, antioxidant activity, and total phenolic content of four accessions of A. hypochondriacus seeds with different origin, grown in the same area, in order to increase the knowledge of this plant as a source of nutrients and bioactive compounds for animal feeding
Our results suggest the possibility of replacing conventional cereals in pig feeding with the amaranth grains, owing to their relatively high dietary protein content and good dietary fiber content [68] and to their favorable lipid composition, in particular essential fatty acids which can be effective in the production of healthy pork as they modify the fatty acid composition of animal tissues [69]
Summary
Amaranthus genus belongs to the Amaranthaceae family and is considered an invasive fast-growing species with a high capability of colonization due to the strategic adaptive seed germination [1,2]. Anyway, it is considered a pseudo-cereal [3] and the three well-known main species are Amaranthus hypochondriacus, Amaranthus cruentus, and Amaranthus caudatus. It is considered a pseudo-cereal [3] and the three well-known main species are Amaranthus hypochondriacus, Amaranthus cruentus, and Amaranthus caudatus They grow in temperate and tropical regions and have some agronomic advantages, namely, rapid growth, the ability to adapt to unfavorable growing conditions, and tolerance to high temperatures [4]. Its seeds exhibit a valuable combination of nutritional traits, showing a higher protein and oil content compared to the conventional cereals such as corn [6] or sorghum [7] and a fatty acid profile (i.e., oleic acid) with beneficial effects for cardiovascular diseases, hypertension, hypercholesterolemia, diabetes, cancer, and inflammations, and contribute to immunity strengthening [4,8]
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