ABSTRACT
This chapter discusses the biochemical and functional properties thus far known about proteins from amaranth species producing edible seeds and leaves. It is pertinent to mention that the terms “seeds” and “grains” are indistinctly used in this work. Amaranth is one of the few double-duty plants which can supply grains and tasty leafy vegetables of high nutritional quality. It is one of the few nongrass species with potential to become a cereal-like grain crop or source of dietary proteins. There are mainly three species of amaranth that produce nutritive seeds, with potential to become a cereallike grain crop: Amaranthus caudatus, Amaranthus cruentus, and Amaranthus hypochondriacus. Histological, chemical, and nutritional studies on A. cruentus seeds were used to characterize the effects of successive milling of the seed. In general, nutrients are more highly concentrated in the seed coat-embryo fraction, 2.3–2.6 times as the original intact seed and it accounted for 26.3% of the total seed weight.
