Productive, Qualitative, and In Vitro Fermentation Traits of Amaranthus Grains as Potential Ingredients for Pig Diet

Biagina Chiofalo, Alessandro Vastolo, Marianna Oteri (), Serena Calabrò, Rosangela Armone, Danilo Scordia, Monica Isabella Cutrignelli and Fabio Gresta
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Biagina Chiofalo: Department of Veterinary Sciences, University of Messina, Via Palatucci snc, 98168 Messina, Italy
Alessandro Vastolo: Department of Veterinary Medicine and Animal Production (DMVPA), University of Napoli Federico II, Via Delpino, 80137 Napoli, Italy
Marianna Oteri: Department of Veterinary Sciences, University of Messina, Via Palatucci snc, 98168 Messina, Italy
Serena Calabrò: Department of Veterinary Medicine and Animal Production (DMVPA), University of Napoli Federico II, Via Delpino, 80137 Napoli, Italy
Rosangela Armone: Department of Veterinary Sciences, University of Messina, Via Palatucci snc, 98168 Messina, Italy
Danilo Scordia: Department of Veterinary Sciences, University of Messina, Via Palatucci snc, 98168 Messina, Italy
Monica Isabella Cutrignelli: Department of Veterinary Medicine and Animal Production (DMVPA), University of Napoli Federico II, Via Delpino, 80137 Napoli, Italy
Fabio Gresta: Department of Veterinary Sciences, University of Messina, Via Palatucci snc, 98168 Messina, Italy

Agriculture, 2023, vol. 13, issue 7, 1-16

Abstract: The present work compared the agronomic traits, chemical composition, fatty acid profile, and in vitro fermentation characteristics of twelve accessions of Amaranthus spp., belonging to A. cruentus , A. hybridus , A. hypochondriacus , and A. tricolor , grown in a semiarid Mediterranean area. Among accessions, Benin and Arizona ( A. cruentus ) and Pennsylvania ( A. hypochondriacus ) showed the highest seed yield (on average, 322.1 g m −2 ), while Taiwan ( A. tricolor ) and India and Iowa ( A. hypochondriacus ) the highest thousand seed weight (on average, 0.81 g). Among the species, A. hypochondriacus showed the highest crude protein (16 g 100g −1 ), starch (51.5 g 100g −1 ), and soluble detergent fiber (2.03 g 100g −1 ) contents and the most favorable in vitro fermentation characteristics with the highest short-chain fatty acid (SCFA 52.6 mmol g −1 ) and butyric acid (20.7% SCFA) production together with the lowest crude fiber (4.93 g 100g −1 ) and insoluble dietary fiber (12.5 g 100g −1 ) content. Arizona ( A. cruentus ) showed the highest level of monounsaturated fatty acids (32.67 g 100g −1 ), Ohio ( A. hybridus ) had the highest levels of polyunsaturated fatty acids (44.62 g 100g −1 ) and n6-PUFA (44.21 g 100g −1 ), and India ( A. hypochondriacus ) had the highest level of n3-PUFA (0.63 g 100g −1 ). A. hypochondriacus exhibited not only desirable nutritive characteristics, agronomic traits, and suitability to Mediterranean growing conditions, but also a potential beneficial effect. Nonetheless, it is recommended to run longer-term field trials to confirm these findings and to assess the genotype by environment interaction either with current accessions or others from the wide Amaranth germplasm available.

Keywords: pseudo-cereal; accessions; monogastric; quality traits; in vitro degradability; fatty acids profile (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: 2023
References: View complete reference list from CitEc
Citations: View citations in EconPapers (1)

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