Evaluation of the Nutrient Composition, In Vitro Fermentation Characteristics, and In Situ Degradability of Amaranthus caudatus, Amaranthus cruentus, and Amaranthus hypochondriacus in Cattle

Characterization of Seed Oil from Six In Situ Collected Wild Amaranthus Species

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.

Effects of salinity on germination dynamics and seedling development in two amaranth genotypes

Amaranth (Amaranthus caudatus L.), commonly known as "kiwicha", is a pseudo-cereal considered as the crop of future regarding its excellent nutritional value. It has also been suggested as a robust alternative to traditional cereal crops in arid and semi-arid regions where abiotic stresses such as drought and salinity have increased due to climate change. In order to study the seedling behavior and germination dynamics of this species against salinity stress, two amaranth genotypes (Red and Green) were randomly chosen among others and our investigation focused on both morphological and physiological traits. Salt stress was applied for 10 days. Our results show that Red genotype was more tolerant to salinity compared to Green since that the first gave a higher final germination rate and produced higher biomass. Moreover, the germination parameters are less affected in Red compared to those in Green genotype. The radicules of the first genotype accumulated more Na⁺ compared to those of the second one. Moreover, at low level of salinity (50 mM NaCl), Red genotype showed significant increase in the volatile polyphenol compound content, as well as in the total antioxidant activity, compared to the control (0 mM NaCl). Even if the inhibitory action of the methanoic extracts of both Red and Green genotypes was affected by the salinity, they showed an important activity against P. aeruginosa pathogen.