Nutrients, minerals, pigments, phytochemicals, and radical scavenging activity in Amaranthus blitum leafy vegetables

Abstract

AbstractA. blitum is good sources of abundant natural antioxidant phytopigments such as anthocyanin, betalain, betaxanthin, and betacyanin and antioxidant phytochemicals of interest in the food industry. The chances of utilizing amaranth pigments and phytochemicals had been evaluated for extracting colorful juice as drink purposes. Hence, the presence of nutrients, phytopigments, phytochemicals, and radical scavenging activity of selected A. blitum leafy vegetables were evaluated. Leaves of A. blitum have considerable fiber, moisture, protein, and carbohydrates. It has considerable magnesium, calcium, potassium (30.42, 24.74, 10.24 mg g−1), zinc, iron, copper, manganese, (878.98, 1153.83, 26.13, 207.50 µg g−1), phytopigments such as chlorophyll a, chlorophyll ab, chlorophyll b, (63.69, 90.60, 29.32 mg 100 g−1), betalain, betaxanthin, betacyanin (112.01, 58.38, 53.63 µg 100 g−1), vitamin C (1848.15 µg g−1), total carotenoids, β-carotene (1675.38, 1281.66 µg g−1), TPC, TFC (253.45 GAE and 162.97 RE µg g−1 DW), and TAC (29.46, 55.72 µg g−1 DW in Tolax equivalent DPPH and ABTS+ radical scavenging capacity) in A. blitum. The accessions DS3, DS6, DS8, and DS12 exhibited the highest TAC in Trolox equivalent DPPH and ABTS+ radical scavenging capacity, flavonoids, and considerable phytopigments. These accessions had excellent antioxidant profiles along with high yielding potentiality. Hence, A. blitum provides an excellent source of proximate, phenolics, minerals, flavonoids, vitamins, and phytopigments to address the nutritional and antioxidant deficiency in daily diet.