Rapid assessment of biochemical indicators of agronomic value in amaranth seed accessions from the VIR collection using NIR spectroscopy

Background. Amaranth (Amaranthus L.) is a relatively new crop for the Russian Federation, with huge potential for growth intensity, productivity, and other agronomic traits. Development of new amaranth cultivars is an important solution to the problem of food quality improvement through the use of plant raw materials enriched with health-friendly and highly nutritious components. Calibration models were developed for rapid assessment of useful agronomic characters (the content of protein, oil, moisture, and basic fatty acids: palmitic, stearic, oleic, linoleic, and α-linolenic) in amaranth seeds preserved at the N.I. Vavilov All-Russian Institute of Plant Genetic Resources (VIR) using near-infrared (NIR) spectroscopy.

Materials and methods. Thirty accessions of amaranth seeds (A. hypochondriacus L., A. cruentus L., and A. caudatus L.) from the VIR collection served as the material for the study. Biochemical indicators of seed quality and fatty acid composition of oil were studied using analytical methods adopted at VIR: the Kjeldahl method for protein content, the dry fat-free residue method for oil, the thermogravimetric method for moisture, and gas–liquid chromatography for fatty acid composition. Calibration models were constructed with the OPUS software developed for the MATRIX-I IR analyzer (Bruker Optics, Germany).

Results and conclusion. Calibration models obtained on a MATRIX-I IR analyzer for measuring the content of protein, moisture, palmitic and oleic acids facilitate mass analysis of amaranth seeds from the VIR collection with an accuracy of 1.5%. Models developed for the quantification of oil, stearic, linoleic and α-linolenic acids require improvement. NIR spectroscopy makes it possible to accelerate the process of obtaining data on major agronomic indicators of amaranth seeds, preserve valuable materials, and determine further steps in breeding practice.

1. Bykov A. The problem of fodder fiber and the basic ways of its decision. Agrarian Bulletin of the Urals. 2008;4(46):71-72. [in Russian]

2. Covas G. Publicación miscelánea Nº 13: Perspectivas del cultivo de los amarantos en la República Argentina. Anguil: Estación Experimental Agropecuaria; 1994. [in Spanish]

3. Ermakov A.I., Arasimovich V.V., Yarosh N.P., Peruanskiy Yu.V., Lukovnikova G.A., Ikonnikova M.I. Methods of biochemical research in plants (Metody biokhimicheskogo issledovaniya rasteniy). A.I. Ermakov (ed.). 3rd ed. Leningrad: Agropromizdat; 1987. [in Russian]

4. Gonor K.V., Pogozheva A.V., Derbeneva S.A., Maltsev G.Yu., Trushina E.N., Mustaphina O.K. The influence of a diet with including amaranth oil antioxidant and immune status in patients with ischemic heart disease and hyperlipoproteidemia. Problems of Nutrition. 2006;75(6):30-33. [in Russian]

5. GOST 9404-88. Interstate standard. Flour and bran. Method of moisture content determination. Moscow: Standartinform; 2007. [in Russian]. URL: https://docs.cntd.ru/document/1200022334 [дата обращения: 22.05.2024].

6. Grobelnik Mlakar S., Turinek M., Jakop M., Bavec M., Bavec F. Nutrition value and use of grain amaranth: potential future application in bread making. Agricultura. 2009;6:43-53.

7. Huang Z.R., Lin Y.K., Fang J.Y. Biological and pharmacological activities of squalene and related compounds: potential uses in cosmetic dermatology. Molecules. 2009;14(1):540554. DOI: 10.3390/molecules14010540

8. Hue C.T., Hang N.T.M., Thanh L.N., Spiridovich E.V., Alekseeva E.I., Hung N.V. Study on biochemical composition of amaranth seeds (by the samples of Vietnam). Vestnik of Astrakhan State Technical University. 2014,9(1):62-66. [in Russian]

9. Khoreva V.I., Popov V.S., Kon’kova N.G. Application of the IR spectrometry method in the screening study of various oat species. Ecological Genetics. 2022;20(4):349-357. DOI: 10.17816/ecogen108503

10. Kjeldahl J. A new method for the determination of nitrogen in organic matter. Zeitschrift für Analytische Chemie. 1883;22:366-382. DOI: 10.1007/BF01338151

11. Magomedov I.M., Chirkova T.V. Amaranth – past, present and future. Advances in Current Natural Sciences. 2015;1(Pt 7):1108-1113. [in Russian]

12. Popov V.S., Shelenga T.V., Blinova E.V., Khoreva V.I. Application of NIR spectroscopy to determine the basic biochemical parameters of black oat grain quality. Plant Biotechnology and Breeding. 2024;7(2):31-41. [in Russian]. DOI: 10.30901/2658-6266-2024-2-o1

13. Reichert P., Schuwirth N. Linking statistical bias description to multiobjective model calibration. Water Resources Research. 2012;48(9):W09543. DOI: 10.1029/2011wr011391

14. Sadergaski L.R., Manard B.T., Andrews H.B. Analysis of trace elements in uranium by inductively coupled plasma-optical emission spectroscopy, design of experiments, and partial least squares regression. Journal of Analytical Atomic Spectrometry. 2023;38(4):800-809. DOI: 10.1039/d3ja00013c

15. Shelenga T.V., Piskunova T.M., Malyshev L.L., Taipakova A.A., Solovyeva A.E. Seed oil biochemical composition of cultivated Cucurbita L. species from the VIR collections grown in the Astrakhan Province of the Russian Federation. Agronomy. 2020;10(10):1491. DOI: 10.3390/agronomy10101491

16. Smith T.J. Squalene: potential chemopreventive agent. Expert Opinion on Investigational Drugs. 2000;9(8):1841-1848. DOI: 10.1517/13543784.9.8.1841

17. Sokolova D., Shelenga T., Zvereva O., Solovieva A. Comparative characteristics of the amino acid composition in amaranth accessions from the VIR Collection. Turkish Journal of Agriculture and Forestry. 2021;45(1):68-78. DOI: 10.3906/tar-2007-7

18. Sokolova D.V. Method for producing fermented tea from red-coloured Amaranth varieties. Russian Federation; patent number 2793627; 2023. [in Russian]

19. Soriano-García M., Arias-Olguín I.I., Montes J.P.C., Ramírez D.G.R., Figueroa J.S.M., Valverde E.F. et al. Nutritional functional value and therapeutic utilization of amaranth. Journal of Analytical and Pharmaceutical Research. 2018;7(5):596-600. DOI: 10.15406/japlr.2018.07.00288

20. Taipova R.M., Kuluev B.R. Amaranth: features of culture, prospects of cultivation in Russia and generation of transgenic Russian varieties. Biomics. 2015;7(4):284-299. [in Russian]

21. Tang Y., Tsao R. Phytochemicals in quinoa and amaranth grains and their antioxidant, anti-inflammatory, and potential health beneficial effects: a review. Molecular Nutrition and Food Research. 2017;61(7):1600767. DOI: 10.1002/mnfr.201600767.