Amaranth
Amarant is a pseudo-cereal based on the Aztec civilization 5-6 thousand years ago. Amarant (Amaranthus spp.), native to South America and also known as "cock comb", is highly unsaturated.
fatty acids, tocopherol, squalene and higher protein content than other grains, it is also a good food source with its essential amino acid content such as alanine, valine, arginine, tryptophan, methionine, isoleucine and serine, and it is gluten-free. It is a healthy product with rich leaves.
Since amaranth does not contain gluten, it is a good food source especially for celiac patients.
It is stated that amaranth, which is rich in magnesium, calcium and phosphorus, contains significant levels of dietary fiber and fat, but its starch content is lower than wheat.
It is stated that amaranth oil, which contains 47% linoleic, 26% oleic and 19% palmitic fatty acids, can lower LDL-cholesterol in the blood with its high level of tocotrienol and squalene content.
In a study in mice, it was reported that amaranth did not cause a change in HDL cholesterol, but it caused a decrease in total cholesterol due to its lowering effect on LDL-cholesterol.
Conforti et al. (2005) determined that amaranth has anti-diabetic activity, while they stated that glucose absorption remained at a limited level due to the decrease in starch digestion due to α-amylase inhibition of amaranth. In addition, diabetic mice fed amaranth grains and oil for three weeks had an increase in serum insulin levels and increased blood glucose levels.
decrease was observed.
It is reported that water extracts of Amaranthus gangeticus have anti-cancer activity on liver, breast and colon cancer. It is pointed out that the proteins isolated from Amaranthus mantegazzianus show antiproliferative effects at different rates in four different tumor cells, therefore Amaranthus mantegazzianus grains have anti-tumor potential and should be used as a functional food component.