Pseudocereal grains: Nutritional value, health benefits and current applications for the development of gluten-free foods.

Nowadays, consumers are more conscious of the environmental and nutritional benefits of foods. Pseudocereals grains, edible seeds belonging to dicotyledonous plant species, are becoming a current trend in human diets as gluten-free (GF) grains with excellent nutritional and nutraceutical value. Pseudocereals are a good source of starch, fiber, proteins, minerals, vitamins, and phytochemicals such as saponins, polyphenols, phytosterols, phytosteroids, and betalains with potential health benefits. The present review aims to summarize the nutritional quality and phytochemical profile of the three main pseudocereal grains: quinoa, amaranth and buckwheat. In addition, current evidence about their health benefits in animal models and human studies is also provided in detail. Based on the accumulating research supporting the inclusion of pseudocereals grains in the diet of celiac persons, this review discusses the recent advances in their application for the development of new GF products. Future directions for a wider cultivation and commercial exploitation of these crops are also highlighted.

The first and low cost copper Schiff base/manganese oxide bio nanocomposite from unwanted plants as a robust industrial catalyst.

In this paper, the first bio-nano colloid including manganese oxide nanoparticles and copper nanocomplex in the presence of Amaranthus spinosus as one unwanted plant was prepared (Mn3O4/CuL bio-nanocolloid). As-prepared bio nanocolloid was analysed completely by different techniques such as FT-IR, ICP-AES, SEM, EDX, TEM and elemental analysis to have the size, structure, morphology and elements in this compound. This bio-nanocolloid showed high catalytic activity towards green oxidation reactions of alcohols using hydrogen peroxide under solvent free conditions. The longevity, easy and practical recoverability of the solid catalyst was also confirmed for six times. The natural starting material for a long-term stability catalyst preparation, using ideal oxidant (H2O2), solventless and easy work up show the great potential in scalability for actual industries applications.

Assessment of microcystin contamination of Amaranthus hybridus, Brassica oleracea, and Lactuca sativa sold in markets: a case study of Zaria, Nigeria.

Microcystins (MCs) are toxic secondary metabolites produced by several cyanobacteria genera that have been implicated in human cancer cases and deaths. Human exposure routes include direct contact with contaminated water and the consumption of contaminated food. The present study investigated the presence of MCs in three commonly consumed vegetables at the point of sale in market places as a means of assessing the direct human health risk of buying vegetables. Overall, 53% of the vegetables obtained from different markets had levels of MCs that were higher than 1.00 µg/g. Amaranthus hybridus L. (smooth amaranth) had the highest MC concentration (4.79 µg/g) in samples obtained from Sabon Gari Market, while Lactuca sativa L. (garden lettuce) had the lowest concentration (0.17 µg/g) in samples obtained from Dan-Magaji Market. The highest total daily intake (TDI) of MCs by an adult weighing 60 kg was 3.19 µg/kg for A. hybridus, 1.41 µg/kg for Brassica oleracea L. (cabbage), and 2.94 µg/kg for L. sativa. The highest TDI of MCs for a child weighing 25 kg was highest in A. hybridus (1.91 µg/kg), followed by L. sativa (1.77 µg/kg). These results revealed that the consumption of vegetables sold in markets in Zaria, Nigeria, during the dry season represents a major exposure route to MCs. There is, therefore, an urgent need to develop policies and monitoring strategies to tackle this problem in developing countries.

Nitrate in drinking water and vegetables: intake and risk assessment in rural and urban areas of Nagpur and Bhandara districts of India.

The study focuses on the estimation of health risk from nitrate present in the drinking water and vegetables in Nagpur and Bhandara districts in the state of Maharashtra, India. Drinking water samples from 77 locations from the rural as well as urban areas and 22 varieties of vegetable were collected and analyzed for the presence of nitrate for a period of 1 year (two seasons). The daily intake of nitrate from these water and vegetable samples was then computed and compared with standard acceptable intake levels to assess the associated health risk. The mean nitrate concentration of 59 drinking water samples exceeded the Bureau of Indian Standards limit of 45 mg/L in drinking water. The rural and urban areas were found to have mean nitrate concentration in drinking water as 45.69 ± 2.08 and 22.53 ± 1.97 mg/L, respectively. The estimated daily intake of drinking water samples from 55 study sites had nitrate concentration far below the safety margin indicating serious health risk. The sanitation survey conducted in 12 households reported contaminated source with positive E. coli count in 20 samples as the major factor of health risk. The average nitrate concentration was maximum in beetroot (1349.38 mg/kg) followed by spinach (1288.75 mg/kg) and amaranthus (1007.64 mg/kg). Among the samples, four varieties of the vegetables exceeded the acceptable daily intake (ADI) with an assumption of 0.5 kg consumption of vegetables for an average of a 60-kg individual. Therefore, irrigation of these locally grown vegetables should be monitored periodically for nitrogen accumulation by the crop above the ADI limit. The application of nitrogenous fertilizers should also be minimized in the rural areas to help protect the nitrate contamination in groundwater sources.

Determination and Safety Assessment of Residual Spirotetramat and Its Metabolites in Amaranth (Amaranthus tricolor) and Soil by Liquid Chromatography Triple-Quadrupole Tandem Mass Spectrometry.

With the purpose of guaranteeing the safe use of spirotetramat and preventing its potential health threats to consumers, a QuEChERS extraction method coupled with LC triple-quadrupole tandem MS was applied in this study to determine residual spirotetramat metabolites in different tissues of amaranth (Amaranthus tricolor) and in soil. The results indicate that the spirotetramat degraded into different types of metabolites that were located in different tissues of amaranth and in soil. B-keto, B-glu, and B-enol were the three most representative degradation products in the leaf of amaranth, and B-glu and B-enol were the two major degradation products found in the stem of amaranth; however, only B-enol was detected in the root of amaranth. B-keto and B-mono were the two products detected in the soil in which the amaranth grew. The cytotoxicity results demonstrate that spirotetramat and its metabolite B-enol inhibited cellular growth, and the toxicity of spirotetramat and its metabolite B-enol exceeded than that of the metabolites B-keto, B-mono, and B-glu. This investigation is of great significance to the safe use of spirotetramat in agriculture.

Assessment of antioxidant, anticancer and antimicrobial activity of two vegetable species of Amaranthus in Bangladesh.

BACKGROUND: Amaranthus (Amaranthaceae) has previously been reported to possess different bioactive phytochemicals including phenols, tannins and flavonoids. The current study was designed to evaluate the antioxidant, anti-proliferative and antimicrobial activity of stem and seed extracts of Amaranthus lividus (AL) and Amaranthus hybridus (AH), respectively. METHODS: Antioxidant activity of methanol extract was assessed by DPPH radical scavenging assay. Determination of lectin activity of Amaranthus extract was carried out using hemagglutination assay on mouse blood. A total of thirty six Swiss albino mice containing Ehrlich's ascites carcinoma (EAC) cells were treated with AL and AH extract at 25, 50 and 100 µg/ml/day/mouse for six days. Growth inhibitory activity was determined by haemocytometer counting of EAC cells using trypan blue dye and DAPI (4΄,6-diamidino-2-phenylindole) staining was used to assess apoptotic cells. Gene amplification study was conducted to observe the expression pattern of p53, Bax, Bcl-2 and caspase-3 mRNA using PCR (polymer chain reaction) technique. In vitro susceptibility of five pathogenic bacteria including Escherichia coli, Pseudomonas aeruginosa, Bacillus subtilis, Salmonella typhi and Staphylococcus aureus was detected using disk diffusion assay. RESULTS: The radical scavenging assay indicated that AH and AL possesses potent antioxidant potential, exhibiting IC50 value of 28 ± 1.5 and 93 ± 3.23 µg/ml, respectively. Hemagglutination assay revealed that AH and AL agglutinated mice blood at 1.565 and 3.125 µg/wall, respectively. Administration of AH and AL extract led to 45 and 43 % growth inhibition of EAC cells, respectively at 100 µg/ml with marked features of apoptosis including cell shrinkage, condensation of cytoplasm and aggregation of apoptotic bodies etc. Up-regulation of p53, Bax and caspase-3 and down-regulation of Bcl-2 mRNA in Amaranthus treated mice indicated mitochondria mediated apoptosis of EAC cells in comparison with control. None of the bacterial species showed susceptibility to the extract of both the Amaranthus species. CONCLUSION: Our current findings suggest that both of the Amaranthus species have strong antioxidant, lectin and anti-proliferative activity on EAC cells. The current anticancer potential was observed due mainly to the mitochondria mediated apoptosis of EAC cells.

Antioxidant activity and nutritional assessment of under-utilized medicinal plants.

The present study investigates the nutritive and anti-nutritive composition of six species (Allium porrum, Amaranthus spinosis, Apium graveolens, Caralluma edulis, Chenopodium album, Urtica dioica). The studied species contained considerable amount of crude protein (4.53-11.41%), crude fat (1.25-3.74%), vitamin C (7.85-28.09mg 100-1 g) and ß-Carotene (18.29-169.33mg 100-1g). The mineral profile of Chenopodium album is considered as potential source of Zn (14.51±1.14mg 100-1g), Mn (67.71±0.85mg 100-1g), Se (8.45±0.49mg 100-1g) and Fe (182.08±1.52mg 100-1g) and Caralluma edulis as potential source of Fe (7.28± 0.03mg 100-1g). Ca and P content ranged 63-306mg 100-1 g and 12-392mg 100-1 g in all studied plants with exceptionally high level was found in Chenopodium album (1084mg 100-1g) and (3924mg 100-1g), respectively. Similarly, total phenol, tannin and phytic acid were found in the range of 105-354, 5-90 and 10-85mg 100-1g, respectively. Total oxalates and soluble oxalates contents were below 200mg 100-1g in five examined plants with the exception of Chenopodium album (413mg 100-1g). Antioxidant activity of Caralluma edulis was found maximum while the rest of the examined plants had moderate levels.

Phytoavailability, human risk assessment and transfer characteristics of cadmium and zinc contamination from urban gardens in Kano, Nigeria.

BACKGROUND: Quantitative data about phytoavailability and transfer into consumed plant parts for heavy metals in intensively managed urban vegetable production areas of sub-Saharan Africa are scarce. We therefore studied the transfer of zinc (Zn) and cadmium (Cd) from soil to the root and subsequent translocation to edible portions of four vegetables in six urban gardens. RESULTS: While respective diethylenetriaminepentaacetic acid (DTPA)-available Zn and Cd concentrations ranged from 18 to 66 mg kg(-1) and from 0.19 to 0.35 mg kg(-1) , respectively, in soils, total Zn and Cd were 8.4-256 mg kg(-1) and 0.04-1.7 mg kg(-1) in shoot parts. Metal transfer factor (MTF) ratios were higher in Zn (0.2-0.9) than in Cd (0.1-0.6). Our data suggest that total Zn concentration in soil is a reliable indicator to assess its transfer from soil to crop in lettuce, carrot and parsley, while for Cd DTPA-extractable concentration may be used to estimate soil-crop transfer of Cd in amaranthus and carrot. Overall, Cd was more easily translocated to the aerial plant parts than Zn. CONCLUSION: Zinc and Cd accumulation by vegetables in our soils is mainly a metabolically controlled process. Such accumulation can contaminate the ecosystem but under our conditions intake and ingestion of these metals will likely have to occur over a prolonged period to experience health hazard.

Safety assessment by in vitro digestibility and allergenicity of genetically modified maize with an amaranth 11S globulin.

Prospective testing for allergenicity of proteins obtained from sources with no prior history of causing allergy has been difficult to perform. Thus, the objective of this work was to assess the food safety of genetically modified maize with an amaranth globulin protein termed amarantin. Transgenic maize lines evaluated showed, in relation to nontransgenic, 4-35% more protein and 0-44% higher contents of specific essential amino acids. Individual sequence analysis with known amino acid sequences, reported as allergens, showed that none of these IgE elicitors were identified in amarantin. Amarantin was digested within the first 15 min by Simulated Gastric Fluid treatment as observed by Western blot. Expressed amarantin did not induce important levels of specific IgE antibodies in BALB/c mice, as analyzed by ELISA. We conclude that the transgenic maize with amarantin is not an important allergenicity inducer, just as nontransgenic maize.

Changes in beta-carotene and ascorbic acid content of fresh amaranth and fenugreek leaves during storage by low cost technique.

Leafy vegetables are highly perishable and their shelf life depends on duration and conditions of storage. A low cost storage structure was used to extend the shelf life of amaranth and fenugreek and their quality was evaluated on the basis of retention of beta-carotene, ascorbic acid and chlorophyll during storage. Losses of beta-carotene ranged from 46.5 to 85.0% for amaranth and 24.0 to 73.0% for fenugreek depending on duration and conditions of storage. Similarly ascorbic acid retention varied from 9-32% for amaranth and 23-80% for fenugreek. Results showed that the degradation of quality parameters was faster at ambient conditions and packaging of leaves in low density polyethylene bags was beneficial in improving shelf life and nutritive value. Low cost storage structure was similar to low temperature storage for retention of beta-carotene, ascorbic acid, chlorophyll content and enhancement of shelf life.