Nutritional value and potential uses of amaranth seeds and the outlook to increase the area under the amaranth crop in Poland
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Date
2021
Authors
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Journal ISSN
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Publisher
Instytut Uprawy Nawożenia i Gleboznawstwa – Państwowy Instytut Badawczy w Puławach
Abstract
Description
Amaranthus L. belongs to herbaceous plants with C4-
type photosynthesis. The genus Amaranthus contains about 70
species, with three subspecies, including both cultivated and wild
types. Amaranth, a pseudo-cereal, has been known to mankind
for quite some time and is one of the oldest cultivated plants in
the world. It originates from South America, where its cultivation
began and where its seeds and green parts were used as food
for humans and animals. Nowadays, it is grown in many countries
of the Americas, Southeast Asia and Africa. In Europe it is
a plant whose cultivation and utilization potential remains underappreciated.
The seeds are gluten-free and contain the valuable
health-promoting compound squalene along with tocopherols and
carotenoids. As the amaranth seeds have exceptional nutritional
qualities, the crop should be cultivated in Europe. Both the seeds
and the green parts of amaranth can also be successfully used in
animal nutrition. They contribute valuable protein, fat and macroand
microelements to the feed. As evidenced by previous scientific
research, amaranth can be grown in Poland. It is currently
grown on a small scale, but the varied potential uses of the grain
offer a good prospect for a significant increase of the area under
that crop in Poland. Only two cultivars are currently available
for cultivation in Poland so there is much demand fort further
breeding work aimed at developing new cultivars adapted to the
coutry’s climate. The aim of the study is to discuss the nutritional
value and possibilities of cultivation development and use of amaranth
seeds in Poland
Keywords
amaranth, cultivation of amaranth, nutritional value, fodder value
Citation
Polish Journal of Agronomy
2021, 46, 40-48