NUTRIMENTAL COMPOSITION OF Amaranthus LEAVES ‘QUINTONILES' FROM THE SIERRA NORTE DE PUEBLA, MEXICO

Abstract

The genus Amaranthus comprises a variety of plants generically termed as “quintoniles” that are widely consumed in several regions of Mexico, such as the Sierra Norte in the state of Puebla (SNP). Several ethnobotanical studies about “quintoniles” at the SNP during the past years, have documented their handling and preparation as well as their morphological analysis. In the present study, we report the nutrient composition of nine harvests of three Amaranthus spp, as well as of one hybrid of A. cruentus x A. hybridus, which also included vitamin and inorganic elements contents. These plants were grown in Ecatlan, a rural community in the municipality of Jonotla, Puebla. From each variety studied it was harvested at least 10 kg of product and sun-dried for one week. The dried material was analyzed according to the official methods of the Association of Official Analytic Chemists and the American Society of Cereal Chemists and the right ones of the Normas Oficiales Mexicanas (NOM) and Normas Mexicanas (NMX) at the department of Food Science and Technology of the Instituto Nacional de Ciencias Médicas y Nutrición Salvador Zubirán (INCMNSZ) in Mexico City. The mean concentration of the chemical composition was (in grams /100 grams of sample): humidity 8.90, ashes 20.98, protein 22.89, ethereal extract (lipids) 0.80, crude fiber 10.26 and carbohydrates 26.7. These results show that “quintoniles” are a good source of energy and proteins, as well as of vitamins of the B complex, Calcium and Iron.