Food Structure
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Abstract
Prosopis , Ol neya , and Amaranthus have potenti a l economic value as food or feed crops fo r a rid /semi- arid r egions. Ma ture seeds of these genera we r e examined using scanning e l ec tron and fluoresce nce microscopy to define a natomy and localize s t or age s truc tures in cells . Pro t ein bodies, some co nt a ini ng phytin inc lu sions , were l oca li zed in the embryos of five Prosopi s s peci es . Prosopis chilensis wa s the only one of the five Prosopis examined which contained starch . In all Prosopis, endosperm was attached t o the inner layer of the seed coat, was thickest in the center of the seed, and gradually decreased in thickness toward the periphery. Olneya t eso t a contained numerous protein and lipid storage-bodies throughout the cotyledons . The co t yledons also contained small sta r ch granules . The thin l eguminous seed coa t had a small quan tity of endosperm attached t o the in ner s urface . Amaranthus cruen tus and A. eduli s cont a ined abundant s t arch located in the pe rispe rm, a sto rage struct ure e nci r cled by the embryo . Protein bodies , some with phytin inclusions, were located in the Acruentus embryo . These res ult s provide information for development of processing met hods of these seeds for use in foods.
Recommended Citation
Irving, D. W. and Beckler, R.
(1985)
"Seed Structure and Composition of Potential New Crops,"
Food Structure: Vol. 4:
No.
1, Article 6.
Available at:
https://digitalcommons.usu.edu/foodmicrostructure/vol4/iss1/6