Seed Lipids of the Grain Amaranths

Abstract

The lipid and fatty acid composition of six members of two closely related genera of the Amaranthaceae have been studied using a combination of chromatographic procedures. The total lipids varied between 16.95 and 9.75% dry weight. Of these amounts, the non-polar lipids (mainly triglycerides) represented approximately 90%, while polar lipids (glycolipids and phospholipids) accounted for the remaining percentage. A relatively high degree of unsaturation was found for all lipids due to the dominance of linoleic acid (about 50%). The storage, metabolic, structural, and nutritional functions of the different acyllipids are discussed.