A Study on Quinoa (amaranth) as a Source of Iron in Piglets

Abstract

The objective of this study was to evaluate the possibility of quinoa (Amaranth) as an iron supplementation in piglets. Three amaranthus species were used in the study, including Amaranthus spininosus, Palmeri amaranthus, and Amaranthus hybridus. The content of iron was determined by atomic absorption spectrophotometry (AAS). F test was used to compare the differences between different treatments. The results showed that there were significant differences in iron content among the three plants (P <0.05), and the hybrid plant had the highest iron content. Studies have shown that quinoa (amaranth) contains iron and can be used as a source of iron in piglets. The current study suggests that farmers consider using hybrid plants as an alternative source of iron supplements for piglets, but the relationship between iron availability in soil types and amaranth species in a particular area needs to be tracked.