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Small Crops of Amaranth and Nopal Plants

Received: 27 May 2022     Accepted: 25 June 2022     Published: 30 June 2022
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Abstract

Amaranth and Nopal plants have been part of the Mexican diet of the inhabitants of semi-arid zones mainly, since ancient times. These two plants contain protein and grow with little water and intense solar radiation. They are usually found in open spaces in the country side. These plants have special dietary characteristics. Amaranth seeds contain between 13 and 18% protein and vitamins A, B, B1, B2, B3 and C, which gives it a high nutritional value. Due to their nutritional value they are recommended for children, older adults and specifically the Nopal for diabetics and the Amaranth indicated for celiacs since it does not contain gluten. Neither of these two foods have cholesterol. The Nopal has a fruit called prickly pear which like Amaranth, can also be eaten as candy. Nopal also has application in cosmetics and shampoo. They can be cultivated in small spaces, it is proposed to plant them in residential houses with small spaces for service patios, their plantation can be in drawers that require few wooden boards to build them. These products, in addition to being protein elements, help in the family economy by reducing expenses in proteins of animal origin. The waste can be used for small-scale composting.

Published in American Journal of Plant Biology (Volume 7, Issue 2)
DOI 10.11648/j.ajpb.20220702.15
Page(s) 116-119
Creative Commons

This is an Open Access article, distributed under the terms of the Creative Commons Attribution 4.0 International License (http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0/), which permits unrestricted use, distribution and reproduction in any medium or format, provided the original work is properly cited.

Copyright

Copyright © The Author(s), 2022. Published by Science Publishing Group

Keywords

Nutritious Plant Foods, Ancestral Plant Foods, Semi-Arid Soils

References
[1] Rastogi, A. and S. Shukla (2013), “Amaranth: A new millennium crop of nutraceutical values”, Critical Review in Food Science and Nutrition, 53: 109-125.
[2] Assad, R., Reshi, ZA, Jan, S. and Rashid, I. (2017). “Biology of amaranth”. The Botanical Review, 83 (4), 382-436.
[3] Rosalba Becerra (2000) Amaranth: "New Technologies for an Ancient Crop", Bimonthly Bulletin of the National Commission for the knowledge and use of Biodiversity, Num. 30.
[4] Skip Tucker, Jonathan B. (1986). Amaranth: the harvest of eleven and the future. BioScience. 36 (1): 9-13. Doi: 10.2307/13097899. ISSN0006-3568 JSTOR1309789.
[5] Culpepper et al. (2006). Glyphosate-resistant palmer amaranth (Amaranthus palmeri) Georgia. Weed Science 54: 620-626.
[6] Acevedo et al., (1983) Acevedo, E., Badilla, I. & Nobel, P. S. 1983. Water relations, diurnal acidity changes and productivity of a cultivated cactus, Opuntia, ficus-indica. Plant Physiol., 72 (3): 775-780.
[7] Joel Corrales Garcia, Claudio Flores Valdez (2003) Nopalitos and Tunas Production, Marketing, Post-harvest and Industrialization.. Autonomous University of Chapingo.
[8] El Kossori, R. L., Villanume, C., El Boustani, E., Sauvaire, Y. & Mejean, L. (1998). Composition of pulp, skin and seeds of prickly pears fruit (Opuntia ficus-indica sp.). Plant physiol., 72 (3): 775-780.
[9] He, Han-Ping; Cai, Yizhong; Sun, Mei; Corke, Harold (2002). “Extraction and purification of squalene of amaranthus grain. “Journal of Agricultural and Food Chemistry. 50 (2): 368-372.
[10] Nopales, Prickly pears and Xoconostles, Consejo Mexicano de Nopal y Tuna, A. C./Red Nopal/National Commission for the knowledge and use of Biodiversity MEXICO (2009).
Cite This Article
  • APA Style

    Edmundo Arias Torres, Bolívar Arias Olguín, César Reyes Arias. (2022). Small Crops of Amaranth and Nopal Plants. American Journal of Plant Biology, 7(2), 116-119. https://doi.org/10.11648/j.ajpb.20220702.15

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    ACS Style

    Edmundo Arias Torres; Bolívar Arias Olguín; César Reyes Arias. Small Crops of Amaranth and Nopal Plants. Am. J. Plant Biol. 2022, 7(2), 116-119. doi: 10.11648/j.ajpb.20220702.15

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    AMA Style

    Edmundo Arias Torres, Bolívar Arias Olguín, César Reyes Arias. Small Crops of Amaranth and Nopal Plants. Am J Plant Biol. 2022;7(2):116-119. doi: 10.11648/j.ajpb.20220702.15

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  • @article{10.11648/j.ajpb.20220702.15,
      author = {Edmundo Arias Torres and Bolívar Arias Olguín and César Reyes Arias},
      title = {Small Crops of Amaranth and Nopal Plants},
      journal = {American Journal of Plant Biology},
      volume = {7},
      number = {2},
      pages = {116-119},
      doi = {10.11648/j.ajpb.20220702.15},
      url = {https://doi.org/10.11648/j.ajpb.20220702.15},
      eprint = {https://article.sciencepublishinggroup.com/pdf/10.11648.j.ajpb.20220702.15},
      abstract = {Amaranth and Nopal plants have been part of the Mexican diet of the inhabitants of semi-arid zones mainly, since ancient times. These two plants contain protein and grow with little water and intense solar radiation. They are usually found in open spaces in the country side. These plants have special dietary characteristics. Amaranth seeds contain between 13 and 18% protein and vitamins A, B, B1, B2, B3 and C, which gives it a high nutritional value. Due to their nutritional value they are recommended for children, older adults and specifically the Nopal for diabetics and the Amaranth indicated for celiacs since it does not contain gluten. Neither of these two foods have cholesterol. The Nopal has a fruit called prickly pear which like Amaranth, can also be eaten as candy. Nopal also has application in cosmetics and shampoo. They can be cultivated in small spaces, it is proposed to plant them in residential houses with small spaces for service patios, their plantation can be in drawers that require few wooden boards to build them. These products, in addition to being protein elements, help in the family economy by reducing expenses in proteins of animal origin. The waste can be used for small-scale composting.},
     year = {2022}
    }
    

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  • TY  - JOUR
    T1  - Small Crops of Amaranth and Nopal Plants
    AU  - Edmundo Arias Torres
    AU  - Bolívar Arias Olguín
    AU  - César Reyes Arias
    Y1  - 2022/06/30
    PY  - 2022
    N1  - https://doi.org/10.11648/j.ajpb.20220702.15
    DO  - 10.11648/j.ajpb.20220702.15
    T2  - American Journal of Plant Biology
    JF  - American Journal of Plant Biology
    JO  - American Journal of Plant Biology
    SP  - 116
    EP  - 119
    PB  - Science Publishing Group
    SN  - 2578-8337
    UR  - https://doi.org/10.11648/j.ajpb.20220702.15
    AB  - Amaranth and Nopal plants have been part of the Mexican diet of the inhabitants of semi-arid zones mainly, since ancient times. These two plants contain protein and grow with little water and intense solar radiation. They are usually found in open spaces in the country side. These plants have special dietary characteristics. Amaranth seeds contain between 13 and 18% protein and vitamins A, B, B1, B2, B3 and C, which gives it a high nutritional value. Due to their nutritional value they are recommended for children, older adults and specifically the Nopal for diabetics and the Amaranth indicated for celiacs since it does not contain gluten. Neither of these two foods have cholesterol. The Nopal has a fruit called prickly pear which like Amaranth, can also be eaten as candy. Nopal also has application in cosmetics and shampoo. They can be cultivated in small spaces, it is proposed to plant them in residential houses with small spaces for service patios, their plantation can be in drawers that require few wooden boards to build them. These products, in addition to being protein elements, help in the family economy by reducing expenses in proteins of animal origin. The waste can be used for small-scale composting.
    VL  - 7
    IS  - 2
    ER  - 

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Author Information
  • Department of Applied Technology, Mexican Institute of Appropriate Technologies, Mexico City, México

  • Department of Applied Technology, Mexican Institute of Appropriate Technologies, Mexico City, México

  • Technological Development Department, Templo Mayor Agricultural Projects, Querétaro, Mexico

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