Effect of different treatments on in vitro protein digestibility, antinutrients, antioxidant properties and mineral composition of Amaranthus viridis seed

In recent times, only the leaves of Amaranthus viridis are been utilized, the seeds are usually discarded. Processing this seed will enhance its utilization as food or functional food. A. viridis seed with protein, fat, ash and carbohydrate content of 11.06, 7.30, 2.94, and 65.01%, respectively was subjected to autoclaving, fermentation, blanching, defatting, and germination. Changes in in vitro protein digestibility, antinutrients, minerals and antioxidant properties were investigated. All the processing methods increase the in vitro protein digestibility of the amaranths seed. There was significant reduction in tannin (13–56.5%), oxalate (10–46%), saponin (15–41%). Fermentation and germination significantly (p < 0.05) increase antioxidant activity (DPPH) and metal chelating activity. In contrast, thermal processing (autoclaving and blanching) significantly reduce the total phenolic compound and FRAP of the amaranth seed. In addition, the minerals composition of the seed was greatly affected by the processing methods. The study showed that germination provided a new approach to further develop A. viridis seed as a functional food for human consumption