Amaranth: A Potential Health Promoting and Nutritive Pseudocereal

Dasharath Patel; Suneeta Pinto

Abstract

Amaranth is considered nowadays as a super crop because of its high nutraceutical value and as super food as it is gluten free, rich in protein, has a balanced content of essential amino acids, and contains significant amounts of calcium, dietary fiber, omega-3, and omega-6. Amaranth grains have wide range of biological functions viz. anti-allergic, antihypertensive, antioxidant, cancer preventing properties, anti-proliferative and ACE-inhibiting activity. Amaranth seeds can be cooked, popped, roasted, extruded, and combined with other grains to develop products with good nutritional, sensorial and nutraceutical characteristics. Amaranth grains is an excellent raw material to produce breakfast foods, extruded and expanded products (snacks), bread and baked goods (i.e., cookies, biscuits, candies and pancakes), pasta and noodles and soups. Amaranth grains are not only a highly valued food but also a novel functional ingredient for specialty foods.

Abstract

Keywords