Fatty Acid Profile, Lipid Quality and Squalene Content of Teff (Eragrostis teff (Zucc.) Trotter) and Amaranth (Amaranthus caudatus L.) Varieties from Ethiopia

Teff and amaranth are gluten-free cereals with significant nutritional and health benefits. However, they are underutilized and known in limited areas of the world. The present study evaluated the fatty acid profile, crude fat, squalene content and lipid quality of seven teff (Eragrostis teff (Zucc.) Trotter) and three amaranth (Amaranthus caudatus L.) varieties from Ethiopia. The fat content ranged from 2.92 to 3.34% (averaging 3.06%) and from 8.28 to 9.21% (averaging 8.6%) for teff and amaranth, respectively. Linoleic, oleic and palmitic acid were predominant in both teff and amaranth, accounting for approximately 89 and 85% of total fatty acid content, respectively. The saturated to unsaturated fatty acids ratio ranged from 0.30 to 0.32 in teff and from 0.38 to 0.40 in amaranth. The parameters used to describe lipid quality, i.e., thrombogenicity and atherogenicity indices, show that teff was superior over amaranth, suggesting a preference for the former for healthy food formulation. The squalene content of white amaranth (486.54 mg/100 g DM) was significantly higher than that of the other two varieties (327.54 and 340.81 mg/100 g DM for red and brown amaranth, respectively). In general, both gluten-free crops should be exploited for their potential as ingredients for the development of novel functional foods.