Abstract
The underutilized
Amaranthus
leafy vegetables are a unique basis of pigments such as β-cyanins, β-xanthins, and betalains with radical scavenging capacity (RSC). They have abundant phytonutrients and antioxidant components, such as pigments, vitamins, phenolics, and flavonoids. Eight selected genotypes (four genotypes from each species) of underutilized
Amaranthus
leafy vegetables were evaluated for phytonutrients, pigments, vitamins, phenolics, flavonoids, and antioxidants in a randomized complete block design under ambient field conditions with three replicates. The studied traits showed a wide range of variations across eight genotypes of two species of
Amaranthus
leafy vegetables. The highest fat, β-xanthins, K, dietary fiber, Mg, β-cyanins, Mn, chlorophyll
ab
, Zn, TP, TF, betalains, chlorophyll
a
content, and (RSC) (DPPH) and RSC (ABTS
+
) were obtained from
A. tricolor
accessions. Conversely, the highest protein, Cu, carbohydrates, Ca, and chlorophyll
b
content were obtained from
A. lividus
accessions. The highest dry matter, carotenoids, Fe, energy, and ash were obtained from
A. tricolor
and
A. lividus
. The accession AT2 confirmed the highest vit. C and RSC (DPPH) and RSC (ABTS+); AT5 had the highest TP content; and AT12 had the highest TF content.
A. tricolor
accessions had high phytochemicals across the two species, such as phytopigments, vitamins, phenolics, antioxidants, and flavonoids, with considerable nutrients and protein. Hence,
A. tricolor
accessions can be used as high-yielding cultivars comprising ample antioxidants. The correlation study revealed that vitamin C, pigments, flavonoids, β-carotene, and phenolics demonstrated a strong RSC, and showed a substantial contribution to the antioxidant potential (AP) of
A. tricolor
. The investigation exposed that the accessions displayed a plentiful origin of nutritional values, phytochemicals, and AP with good quenching ability of reactive oxygen species (ROS) that provide enormous prospects for nourishing the mineral-, antioxidant-, and vitamin-threatened community.