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Genotype variability in composition of antioxidant vitamins and minerals in vegetable amaranth

Sarker Umakanta (Bangabandhu Sheikh Mujibur Rahman Agricultural University, Faculty of Agriculture, Department of Genetics and Plant Breeding, Gazipur, Bangladesh)
Islam Tofazzal (Bangabandhu Sheikh Mujibur Rahman Agricultural University, Faculty of Agriculture, Department of Biotechnology, Gazipur, Bangladesh)
Rabbani Golam (Bangladesh Agricultural University, Faculty of Agriculture, Department of Horticulture, Mymensingh, Bangladesh)
Oba Shinya (Gifu University, Faculty of Applied Biological Science, Laboratory of Field Science, Gifu, Japan)

Twenty five vegetable amaranth genotypes were evaluated to investigate the antioxidant vitamins and minerals composition and its genetic variability in a RCBD with three replications at Bangabandhu Sheikh Mujibur Rahman Agricultural University in Bangladesh during kharif1 season 2012 and 2013, respectively. Significant Mean Sum of Square revealed a wide range of genotypic variability among traits. Vegetable amaranth was rich in iron, zinc, manganese, magnesium and potassium. Ten strains gave the best (more than 5 kg) foliage yield with rich in antioxidant minerals and vitamins. Selection of these genotypes would be economically useful for antioxidant vitamins, minerals and yield aspects. On the other hand, eight genotypes had high amounts of antioxidant vitamins and minerals with below average foliage yield and could be utilized as donor parents for introgression of genes in vitamins and minerals deficient lines. Considering genetic parameter six traits i e., Fe, Zn, Mn, ascorbic acid, number of leaves plant and foliage yield would be selected for the improvement of vegetable amaranth genotypes under study. However, correlation study revealed that selection based on Fe, Mn, ascorbic acid and number of leaves per plant could lead to increase the foliage yield of vegetable amaranth strains. Insignificant genotypic correlations between foliage yield with most of the antioxidant vitamins and minerals traits indicating that selection for high vitamins and minerals content might be possible without compromising yield loss. Based on mean, genetic parameters and correlation coefficient values, five vegetable amaranth genotypes i. e., AA19, AA10, AA3, AA24 and AA7 might be selected as high vitamin and minerals containing high yielding vegetable amaranth varieties.

Keywords: antioxidant, ascorbic acid, beta-carotene, foliage yield, mineral content