Amaranth: A reservoir of antioxidant-based phytonutrient for combating degenerative diseases

Abstract The role of Amaranthus as an underexploited tropical plant with promising economic values for its excellent nutritional attributes renders it a major potential future crop among the world's 36 most promising crops. The crops are basically known for their grains and leaves with a high quality of proteins, amino acids, iron, dietary fibers, oils, and other micronutrients. Several folklore and ethnomedical claims also suggest the utilization of Amaranths to treat several degenerative diseases with their curative and protective properties attributed to their excellent antioxidant potential. Several in vivo and in vitro studies also corroborate the significantly high antioxidant potential of this multipurpose crop. Research on antioxidant-based phytonutrient availability has been expanding rapidly, highlighting their health-promoting chemical properties. Though there is extensive literature on amaranth phytonutrients, the information related to the biological effects of the bioactive phytonutrients and their germplasm-specific information is limited. The present chapter makes an effort in that area of amaranth research with an objective to bridge the gap between the folklore claims of the utilization of amaranths against degenerative diseases with corresponding chemical data. Additionally, RP-HPLC and GC–MS analysis data of leaf extracts of some lead germplasms of Amaranthus hypochondriacus have shown the complex, rich chemical composition of flavonoids, phenolic acids, and other phytochemicals with at least one or more aromatic rings and hydroxyl groups responsible for their rich antioxidant property (as correlated with their radical scavenging property, metal chelating property, reducing property, anti-lipid peroxidation property, antiinflammatory property, etc.).