Biochemical characteristics, and nutraceutical and technological uses of amaranth globulins

Seed storage proteins have been nutritional and functionally valuable in the food industry and for human consumption. The Osborne's classical technique has been used to extract and classify seed storage proteins; additionally, in the last decades molecular properties have been also used for their characterization. Amaranth proteins, most of them being globulins (salt soluble proteins), have good essential amino acid levels. The nutritional, nutraceutical and technological properties shown by amaranth make it highly attractive to be incorporated into food formulations and to complement or replace some conventional cereal grains. The functional properties of its proteins provide good technological characteristics to food matrices. Several studies have shown that globulins are involved in some immunological processes suggesting that the immune-stimulating effects may lead to B lymphocyte activation and subsequent T cell proliferation in vitro. Other bioactive properties have been found in peptides from globulins mainly as outstanding antihypertensive agents. The previous characteristics, plus some others, are showing that the strong potential of amaranth and especially of its globulins should lead both of them to wider food and nutraceutical uses.