• Journal of the Korean Society of Food Science and Nutrition
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• v.45 no.7
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• pp.980-989
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• 2016

In the present study, we compared and investigated the nutritional compositions of Amaranthus cruentus and Amaranthus hypochondriacus baby-leaves cultivated in Korea. Baby-leaves of two amaranthes consisted of more than 92% moisture, and A. cruentus contained a higher amount of moisture than A. hypochondriacus. Meanwhile, A. hypochondriacus contained higher levels of crude ash, crude protein, crude lipid, carbohydrates, and dietary fiber than A. cruentus. The major free sugars of the two amaranth baby-leaves were fructose and glucose. Fructose content of A. hypochondriacus was higher than that of A. cruentus, and glucose content of A. cruentus was higher than that of A. hypochondriacus. Acetic acid, malic acid, and fumaric acid were detected in two amaranth leaves, but succinic acid was not detected. Two amaranth leaves contained 17 amino acids except for methionine, proline, and tyrosine, and leaves contained the highest glutamic acid contents. In addition, A. cruentus and A. hypochondriacus leaves contained high contents of taurine and ${\gamma}$-aminobutyric acid and showed various biological activities. The major mineral and fatty acid of the two amaranth leaves were potassium and linolenic acid (C18:3), respectively. The ${\beta}$-carotene contents of A. cruentus and A. hypochondriacus leaves were $478.72{\mu}g/100g$ and $474.12{\mu}g/100g$, respectively. In vitamin B complex, $B_2$, $B_3$, and $B_5$ were detected in the two amaranth leaves whereas vitamins $B_1$, $B_6$, and $B_{12}$ were not detected. A. hypochondriacus contained higher amounts of vitamin C and E than those of A. cruentus. Overall, amaranth leaves contained high amounts of nutritional components. Therefore, amaranth leaves are expected to be useful for the development of a functional food. Moreover, these results will provide fundamental data for advancing sitological value, breeding new cultivars, and promoting leafy vegetable usage.

• Proceedings of the Korean Society of Crop Science Conference
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• 2019.09a
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• pp.165-165
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• 2019

• Journal of Plant Biotechnology
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• v.49 no.1
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• pp.99-105
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• 2022

This study assessed the antioxidant and anti-inflammatory activities of leaf extracts from grain amaranths (Amaranthus spp.). Among all the extracts, the ethanol extract of Amaranthus cruentus leaves (Ar) exhibited the highest antioxidant activity, including the DPPH free radical scavenging activity and ORAC. In addition, Ar strongly inhibited nitric oxide production by suppressing the MEK/ERK signaling pathway in lipopolysaccharide-stimulated RAW264 murine macrophages. HPLC analysis revealed 13 polyphenolic compounds in the leaf extracts of grain amaranth and indicated that Ar contained more rutin than the other extracts. Taken together, these results show the impact of species diversity on the phytochemical contents and bioactivities of plant extracts and suggest that the nonedible parts, such as leaves, of A. cruentus should be considered for use as crude drugs and dietary health supplements.

• Food Science of Animal Resources
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• v.38 no.3
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• pp.570-579
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• 2018

The study investigated antioxidative properties and rectal cancer cell inhibition effect of amaranth (Amaranthus cruentus L.) cauline leaves (ACL) to produce the sausage with ACL powder (ACLP). Antioxidative effects of ACLP prepared with different stem lengths (10-45 cm) were evaluated through DPPH, ABTS, reducing power, total phenol, and total flavonoid. Inhibition effect on rectal cancer cells growth was also examined with CT-26 cell. To determine appropriate ACL amounts in sausage formula, response surface methodology was used. The sausages without ACL (control) and the sausage with ACL (ACLP sausage) were the subjected to the examinations of antioxidation, growth inhibition on CT-26, and physicochemical properties (pH and water content). ACLP made from the leaf with 15 cm length stem generally showed the highest antioxidative effect through results of DPPH, ABTS, reducing power, total phenol, and total flavonoid. ACLP also showed inhibition effect on the proliferation of CT-26, depending on concentration of ACLP. The surface response model showed that 4.87 g of ACLP was optimized amount for sausage production. Physicochemical properties between optimized ACLP and control sausages were not significantly different. Higher antioxidative effect of optimized ACLP sausage extract was observed (p<0.05) in antioxidation tests than control sausage extract except for DPPH. Cell viability of CT-26 cells were higher (p<0.05) in ACLP than in control sausage extracts. These results indicate that ACLP has functional effects on antioxidation activity and growth inhibition on CT-26 cell, and thus, it should be useful as a supplement in sausage, which may some effect as ACLP itself.

• Proceedings of the Korean Society of Crop Science Conference
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• 2022.10a
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• pp.294-294
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• 2022

To date, there have been no reports on the cloning and characterization of a gene encoding SQS from Amaranthus, although there have been some reports on methods of extracting and purifying squalene from Amaranthus seeds. In this study, we monitored the expression pattern of the amaranth SQS gene in seeds at different developmental stages and in different tissues. The transcript expression pattern of the SQS gene was investigated using total RNA isolated from seeds at different stages of development. There were low levels of SQS transcripts at the early stage of seed development, and the levels remained low until the middle developmental stage. The expression of SQS increased rapidly to reach a peak at the mid-late developmental stage, and then declined dramatically. This pattern of expression was consistent with the results of RT-PCR analyses. All RNA samples generated a fragment of the expected size (183-bp). The amaranth SQS was expressed at low levels during the initial to middle stages of seed development, and its expression level increased at the mid-late development stage. Also The tissue-specific expression of amaranth SQS was determined by quantifying its mRNA in total RNA isolated from the leaves, petioles, stems, and roots of seedlings at the four- and six-leaf stages. Using qRT-PCR and RT-PCR analysis, we detected amaranth SQS transcripts in some of the tissues at the six-leaf stage, but in none of the tissues from plants at the four-leaf stage. SQS transcripts accumulated in almost equal amounts in stems and roots, while a lower level accumulated in leaves and petioles during seedling development at the four- to six-leaf stages. This study provides useful information about the molecular characterization of the SQS clone isolated from grain amaranth. A basic understanding of these characteristics will contribute to further studies on the amaranth SQS.

• Journal of Plant Biology
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• v.29 no.2
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• pp.129-133
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• 1986

Transections of the stem region close to the shoot apex show the occurrence of an outer, complete ring of procambium and an inner group of discrete procambial strands. From the outer ring, small, discrete vascular bundles and vascular cambium originate, while the inner group forms the discrete, medullary vascular bundles with intrafascicular cambium. Secondary thickening is essentially due to the activity of the cylinder or complete ring of vascular cambium that originates from the procambium. The medullary intrafascicular cambia also form some secondary tissues. The vascular cambium produces secondary xylem inwards and secondary phloem outwards as in the normal secondary thickening process. The distinctive feature, however, is perpetual discreteness of the medullary vascular bundles. No successive series of cambia or secondary vascular bundles are found.

• Proceedings of the Korean Society of Crop Science Conference
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• 2022.10a
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• pp.173-173
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• 2022

In this study, we investigated whether there is another amaranth GBSS isoform in an attempt to characterize the synthesis of amylose in the pericarp. We used I2/KI staining to analyze the temporal and spatial starch accumulation patterns during seed development. The spatiotemporal starch accumulation patterns in developing seeds were observed by staining with I2/KI. Starch granules were observed in the pericarp in the initial developmental stage (3 DAP). A few starch granules were detected in the perisperm in the early-late developmental stage (8 DAP), during which the pericarp starch contents rapidly decreased. Starch granules were distributed throughout the perisperm in the mid-late developmental stage (15 DAP). Similar results were reported for other cereal crops, including barley, rice, and sorghum. Starch granules in the pericarp are synthesized during the early seed developmental stages but are absent in mature seeds. We recently reported that starch deposits in the perisperm of developing amaranth seeds are detectable only after the initial developmental stage. Prior to this stage, the pericarp is the major site of starch deposition. A recent study suggested that GBSSII isoforms are responsible for amylose synthesis in pericarps.

• Proceedings of the Korean Society of Crop Science Conference
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• 2017.06a
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• pp.89-89
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• 2017

A gene encoding squalene synthase from grain amaranth was cloned and characterized. The full-length cDNA was 1805-bp long and contained a 1248-bp open reading frame encoding a protein of 416 amino acids with a molecular mass of 47.6 kDa. Southern blot analysis revealed that the A. cruentus genome contained a single copy of the gene. Comparison of the cDNA and genomic sequences indicated that the amaranth SQS gene had 12 introns and 13 exons. All of the exons contributed to the coding sequence. The predicted amino acid sequence of the SQS cDNA shared high homology with those of SQSs from several other plants. It contained conserved six domains that are believed to represent crucial regions of the active site. We conducted qRT-PCR analyses to examine the expression pattern of the SQS gene in seeds at different developmental stages and in several tissues. The amaranth SQS gene was low levels of SQS transcripts at the initial stage of seed development, but the levels increased rapidly at the mid-late developmental stages before declining at the late developmental stage. These findings showed that the amaranth SQS is a late-expressed gene that is rapidly expressed at the mid-late stage of seed development. In addition, we observed that the SQS mRNA levels in stems and roots increased rapidly during the four- to six-leaf stage of development. Therefore, our results showed that the expression levels of SQS in stem and root tissues are significantly higher than those in leaf tissues. In present study provides useful information about the molecular characterization of the SQS clone isolated from grain amaranth. Finally, a basic understanding of these characteristics will contribute to further studies on the amaranth SQS.