Plant Name: Amaranthus spinosus L
Common name: Prickly Amaranth
Marathi: Kaate bhaji
Hindi: Kanta chaulai
English: Spiny/ Pricky/ Thorny amaranth
Jawhar: Kaate maat
Interesting facts and history
Spiny Amaranth is considered as a number three weed in maize in Philippines, Ghana, Hawaii, Mexico and Thailand, whereas, number one weed in cotton crop in Thailand and USA1
Identification guide
General
Amaranthus spinosus is an erect, much-branched annual plant growing up to 100cm tall
Stems
It is multi branched, smooth, angled with longitudinal lines and brownish- green in colour
Leaves
Leaf type is simple, discoloured and arranged alternately. The edges are without lobes. They are tapering at the base with slender petiole and bear a pair of spines up to 1cm long at the base
Flowers
Unisexual, each flower has only stamen or only carpels but both types are present on each plant, straw coloured
Seeds
Black, spherical in shape, 0.5 to 2 mm in size
Inflorescence
Long and slender with ancillary spikes
Habit / Habitat
It is a spinous herb
It has a wild growth at the roadside, near cultivable lands/ abandoned fields and waste lands. The life span is only a year or less.
Occurrence
It is native to tropical America and found mainly in warm regions. It is widely spread in India and an invasive species in countries like Caribbean Sea, west and south of Africa, East and South East Asia.
Sample collected: Kasatwadi, Jawhar
Edible parts
World wide use
Tender leaves
Used by tribal community in Jawhar
Fruits
Non-edible parts
Toxicity: It is suspected as a poison for cattle or even for human beings, if plant is grown on nitrogen rich soil. 1
Reason: A. spinosus could have high concentration of nitrate which could cause poisoning in cattle1. They could cause stomach cancer, blue babies and other health problems in humans, if nitrate rich leaves are consumed in high quantity and for longer duration.
Method of consumption
Jawhar tribal
- Traditional Recipe:
Leaves are washed and boiled, sauté in oil along with chopped onion, garlic, green chilli and a pinch of salt to taste.
- spinosus has a bitter taste hence rarely eaten and substituted for other vegetables
Nutritional and medicinal information
Nutritional significance
Nutritional value of dried leaves of A. spinosus per 100g
Sr. No. Parameters % Daily Value*
- Total Fat 0 g 2-4.5
- Total Carbohydrate 45-54
- Dietary fiber 9.8-10.4
- Protein 20-34.4
- Vitamins Amount (mg)
- Vitamin A40
- Minerals
- Phosphorous 333-460
- Calcium 1795-5333
- Sodium 13-37
- Potassium 27.9-40.8
- Thiamine 0.06
- Riboflavin 2.02
- Iron 13.5-152.7
- Niacin 7.7-8.6
- Ascorbic acid 503
Pharmaceutical significance
Literature review
1) A study was conducted to investigate the antitumor capacity and chemoprotective effects of Amaranthus spinosus leaves. S. Rajasekaran, et al, studied the effect of methanol extract of the leaves on different cancer cell lines such as breast, colorectal, liver and normal cell lines. It was observed that the methanol extract shows significant membrane stability and anti-inflamatory property. Hence, the study suggests that the leaves reveal a significant anti-tumour effect in cancerous cell lines.
2) Methanolic extract of A. spinosus leaves showed a significant antipyretic activity when measured by yeast induced pyrexia method at concentration of 200 and 400 mg/kg using paracetamol as standard drug.
Harvesting and preserving
Direct sow seeds once the soil temperature has reached around 70 degrees F. One gram of seed will sow 50 ft of row and an acre requires about one pound of seed.
Propagation and Storage
Season of collection:
Flowering: December to April
Fruiting: Throughout the year
How to grow it?
- spinosus is a wild herb hence the dispersion of seeds could be through natural agent e.g. wind or water.
Method of storage
Prop gules: Seeds could be easily stored in a dry place to avoid fungal activity.
Edible parts: Leaves perishable and hence eaten fresh.
Other uses
Vietnamese historically used the ash of the plant as a grey cloth dye.
Classification
Kingdom: Plantae
Division: Spermatophyta
Sub-division: Angiospermae
Class: Dicotyledonae
Sub-class: Apetalae
Series: Curvembryae
Family: Amaranthaceae
Genus: Amaranthus
Species: spinosus
References
- http://www.cabi.org/isc/datasheet/4653
- https://gobotany.newenglandwild.org/species/amaranthus/spinosus/
- http://america.pink/amaranthus-spinosus_358750.html
- http://practicalplants.org/wiki/Amaranthus_spinosus
- http://indiabiodiversity.org/species/show/32937/?max=8&offset=0&classification=265799&taxon=30679&view=grid
- http://www.pfaf.org/user/Plant.aspx?LatinName=Amaranthus+spinosus
- http://ijrpb.com/current%20issues/1/v2_is1/ijrpb%202%281%29%2019%20dinesh%202%201058-%201064.pdf
- http://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/pii/S1995764510601691
- http://tropical.theferns.info/viewtropical.php?id=Amaranthus+spinosus
- http://veggieharvest.com/vegetables/amaranth.html