Amaranth

Cardiovascular Health

Kamal Patel

Amaranth is the common name used to refer to plants in the amaranthus genus (of the Amaranthaceae family).Species used in supplementation include amaranthus tricolor,<a href="#ref-1" id="ref-link-1" class="ref-link popover" data-tooltip='&lt;div&gt;&lt;p class="mb-3"&gt;Kushwaha S, Chawla P, Kochhar A. &lt;a href="https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/26396347" target="\_blank" rel="noopener noreferrer"&gt;Effect of supplementation of drumstick (Moringa oleifera) and amaranth (Amaranthus tricolor) leaves powder on antioxidant profile and oxidative status among postmenopausal women&lt;/a&gt;&lt;/p&gt;J Food Sci Technol (2014)&lt;/div&gt;'>[1]</a> amaranthus paniculatus, amaranthus caudatus, and amaranthus cruentus.<a href="#ref-2" id="ref-link-2" class="ref-link popover" data-tooltip='&lt;div&gt;&lt;p class="mb-3"&gt;Tyszka-Czochara M et al.. &lt;a href="https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/26162623" target="\_blank" rel="noopener noreferrer"&gt;Selenium Supplementation of Amaranth Sprouts Influences Betacyanin Content and Improves Anti-Inflammatory Properties via NF&amp;kappa;B in Murine RAW 264.7 Macrophages&lt;/a&gt;&lt;/p&gt;Biol Trace Elem Res (2016)&lt;/div&gt;'>[2]</a> While the grain of these plants is used nutritively, the leaves are also sometimes used as dietary supplements.<a href="#ref-1" id="ref-link-1" class="ref-link popover" data-tooltip='&lt;div&gt;&lt;p class="mb-3"&gt;Kushwaha S, Chawla P, Kochhar A. &lt;a href="https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/26396347" target="\_blank" rel="noopener noreferrer"&gt;Effect of supplementation of drumstick (Moringa oleifera) and amaranth (Amaranthus tricolor) leaves powder on antioxidant profile and oxidative status among postmenopausal women&lt;/a&gt;&lt;/p&gt;J Food Sci Technol (2014)&lt;/div&gt;'>[1]</a>

Amaranth tends to contain:<ul>
<li>Betacyanins, the pigments that gives amaranth a red colouration.<a href="#ref-2" id="ref-link-2" class="ref-link popover" data-tooltip='&lt;div&gt;&lt;p class="mb-3"&gt;Tyszka-Czochara M et al.. &lt;a href="https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/26162623" target="\_blank" rel="noopener noreferrer"&gt;Selenium Supplementation of Amaranth Sprouts Influences Betacyanin Content and Improves Anti-Inflammatory Properties via NF&amp;kappa;B in Murine RAW 264.7 Macrophages&lt;/a&gt;&lt;/p&gt;Biol Trace Elem Res (2016)&lt;/div&gt;'>[2]</a> The overall levels varying depending on growing conditions such as soil quality<a href="#ref-2" id="ref-link-2" class="ref-link popover" data-tooltip='&lt;div&gt;&lt;p class="mb-3"&gt;Tyszka-Czochara M et al.. &lt;a href="https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/26162623" target="\_blank" rel="noopener noreferrer"&gt;Selenium Supplementation of Amaranth Sprouts Influences Betacyanin Content and Improves Anti-Inflammatory Properties via NF&amp;kappa;B in Murine RAW 264.7 Macrophages&lt;/a&gt;&lt;/p&gt;Biol Trace Elem Res (2016)&lt;/div&gt;'>[2]</a> and light levels.<a href="#ref-3" id="ref-link-3" class="ref-link popover" data-tooltip='&lt;div&gt;&lt;p class="mb-3"&gt;Khandaker L, Ali MB, Oba S. &lt;a href="http://ci.nii.ac.jp/naid/110006975677/en" target="\_blank" rel="noopener noreferrer"&gt;Total Polyphenol and Antioxidant Activity of Red Amaranth (Amaranthus tricolor L.) as Affected by Different Sunlight Level&lt;/a&gt;&lt;/p&gt;J Japan Soc Hortic Sci (2008)&lt;/div&gt;'>[3]</a> Concentrations have been noted to be in the range of 7-30mg/100g fresh weight of sprouts<a href="#ref-2" id="ref-link-2" class="ref-link popover" data-tooltip='&lt;div&gt;&lt;p class="mb-3"&gt;Tyszka-Czochara M et al.. &lt;a href="https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/26162623" target="\_blank" rel="noopener noreferrer"&gt;Selenium Supplementation of Amaranth Sprouts Influences Betacyanin Content and Improves Anti-Inflammatory Properties via NF&amp;kappa;B in Murine RAW 264.7 Macrophages&lt;/a&gt;&lt;/p&gt;Biol Trace Elem Res (2016)&lt;/div&gt;'>[2]</a></li>
</ul>

In otherwise healthy subjects, supplementation of 2g amaranth grain was able to increase both salivary and plasma levels of <a href="/supplements/nitrate/" class="popover" data-tooltip="&lt;div&gt;&lt;h6&gt;Nitrate&lt;/h6&gt;&lt;p&gt;Nitrate (NO&lt;sub&gt;3&lt;/sub&gt;-) is found in several foods (e.g., green leafy vegetables and beetroot). In the human body, dietary nitrate is used to produce nitric oxide, which plays a major role in regulating vascular function. Nitrate supplements are claimed to improve...&lt;/p&gt;&lt;/div&gt;">nitrate</a> and nitrite when compared to placebo.<a href="#ref-4" id="ref-link-4" class="ref-link popover" data-tooltip='&lt;div&gt;&lt;p class="mb-3"&gt;Subramanian D, Gupta S. &lt;a href="https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/27131407" target="\_blank" rel="noopener noreferrer"&gt;Pharmacokinetic study of amaranth extract in healthy humans: A randomized trial&lt;/a&gt;&lt;/p&gt;Nutrition (2016)&lt;/div&gt;'>[4]</a>

One study using the leaves of amaranthus tricolor (9 grams over three months) in postmenopausal women found that supplementation was associated with a 10.4% reduction in fasting glucose compared to control.<a href="#ref-1" id="ref-link-1" class="ref-link popover" data-tooltip='&lt;div&gt;&lt;p class="mb-3"&gt;Kushwaha S, Chawla P, Kochhar A. &lt;a href="https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/26396347" target="\_blank" rel="noopener noreferrer"&gt;Effect of supplementation of drumstick (Moringa oleifera) and amaranth (Amaranthus tricolor) leaves powder on antioxidant profile and oxidative status among postmenopausal women&lt;/a&gt;&lt;/p&gt;J Food Sci Technol (2014)&lt;/div&gt;'>[1]</a> This change was attributed to the antioxidant properties of the leaves, as benefit was also found in this study with <a href="/supplements/moringa/" class="popover" data-tooltip="&lt;div&gt;&lt;h6&gt;Moringa&lt;/h6&gt;&lt;p&gt;Moringa oleifera is an economically important tree and vegetable, and preliminary evidence suggests that it has a respectable antioxidant and antiinflammatory potency. It contains compounds structurally similar to sulforaphane and appears to be protective when orally ingested.&lt;/p&gt;&lt;/div&gt;">Moringa oleifera</a> which acts via its antioxidant content.<a href="#ref-1" id="ref-link-1" class="ref-link popover" data-tooltip='&lt;div&gt;&lt;p class="mb-3"&gt;Kushwaha S, Chawla P, Kochhar A. &lt;a href="https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/26396347" target="\_blank" rel="noopener noreferrer"&gt;Effect of supplementation of drumstick (Moringa oleifera) and amaranth (Amaranthus tricolor) leaves powder on antioxidant profile and oxidative status among postmenopausal women&lt;/a&gt;&lt;/p&gt;J Food Sci Technol (2014)&lt;/div&gt;'>[1]</a>

When tested in RAW 264.7 macrophages, amaranth seeds and sprouts from amaranthus cruentus (10 μg/mL) appeared to exert an antiinflammatory effect by inhibiting NF-kB translocation and limiting the amount of IL-6 secreted after stimulation from LPS.<a href="#ref-2" id="ref-link-2" class="ref-link popover" data-tooltip='&lt;div&gt;&lt;p class="mb-3"&gt;Tyszka-Czochara M et al.. &lt;a href="https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/26162623" target="\_blank" rel="noopener noreferrer"&gt;Selenium Supplementation of Amaranth Sprouts Influences Betacyanin Content and Improves Anti-Inflammatory Properties via NF&amp;kappa;B in Murine RAW 264.7 Macrophages&lt;/a&gt;&lt;/p&gt;Biol Trace Elem Res (2016)&lt;/div&gt;'>[2]</a>

In postmenopausal women given supplemental amaranth (9 grams of the leaf powder) over the course of three months, supplementation appeared to have a small benefit to the amount of the antioxidant enzyme known as superoxide dismutase (SOD; increase of 10.8%) and concomitant decrease in lipid peroxidation (9.6% assessed by MDA).<a href="#ref-1" id="ref-link-1" class="ref-link popover" data-tooltip='&lt;div&gt;&lt;p class="mb-3"&gt;Kushwaha S, Chawla P, Kochhar A. &lt;a href="https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/26396347" target="\_blank" rel="noopener noreferrer"&gt;Effect of supplementation of drumstick (Moringa oleifera) and amaranth (Amaranthus tricolor) leaves powder on antioxidant profile and oxidative status among postmenopausal women&lt;/a&gt;&lt;/p&gt;J Food Sci Technol (2014)&lt;/div&gt;'>[1]</a>

Amaranth

Amaranth

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