Nutritional and Phenolic Profile of Early and Late Harvested Amaranth Leaves Grown Under Cultivated Conditions

Tlou Grace Manyelo, Nthabiseng Amenda Sebola and Monnye Mabelebele
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Tlou Grace Manyelo: Department of Agriculture and Animal Health, College of Agriculture and Environmental Sciences, University of South Africa, Florida 1710, South Africa
Nthabiseng Amenda Sebola: Department of Agriculture and Animal Health, College of Agriculture and Environmental Sciences, University of South Africa, Florida 1710, South Africa
Monnye Mabelebele: Department of Agriculture and Animal Health, College of Agriculture and Environmental Sciences, University of South Africa, Florida 1710, South Africa

Agriculture, 2020, vol. 10, issue 10, 1-13

Abstract: Amaranth leaves are edible vegetables with high nutritional value that depends on the harvest stage. This study evaluated the nutritional and chemical profile of amaranth leaves harvested at days 65 and 120. Samples were collected, air-dried, and milled to pass through a 1-mm sieve before analysis. Higher ( p < 0.05) crude protein (CP) and gross energy (GE) were observed in early harvested leaves than late harvested leaves. In addition, late harvested leaves had higher ( p < 0.05) calcium, magnesium, and sodium contents than early harvested leaves; early harvested leaves had higher ( p < 0.05) threonine, lysine, and leucine contents than late harvested leaves. Furthermore, early harvested leaves showed higher ( p < 0.05) rutin, hyperoside, tryptophan, quercetin, and kaempferol rutinoside contents than late harvested leaves. A strong positive correlation was observed between nutrition composition and phenolic compounds. It can be concluded that both early and late harvested amaranth leaves are a promising source of nutrients and phenolic compounds that can help in providing new opportunities for their use in the food and pharmaceutical industries.

Keywords: amaranth leaves; amino acids; harvest stage; minerals (search for similar items in EconPapers)
JEL-codes: Q1 Q10 Q11 Q12 Q13 Q14 Q15 Q16 Q17 Q18 (search for similar items in EconPapers)
Date: 2020
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