Resumen

OLIVARES, Elizabeth  y  PENA, Eder. Bioconcentration of mineral elements in Amaranthus Dubius (wild spinach, imbuya) growing wild in crops from Miranda State, Venezuela, and used as food. INCI [online]. 2009, vol.34, n.9, pp.604-611. ISSN 0378-1844.

The goal of the present work was to evaluate in the species Amaranthus dubius the bioconcentration factor (BF) of mineral nutrients and non essential metals, calculated as the ratio of the concentration of them in the aerial organs to that in the soil, in samples collected from three sites in Miranda State, Venezuela: El Jarillo, the Agrarian Technical School Carrizal and La Maitana. The BF obtained was compared with that of six other species, including A. hybridus. It was found that in both amaranth species the BF of K was higher than in the other species, and bioconcentration of N, P, K, Mg, Ca and Cd in their leaves was observed; however, a BF<1 was found for Al, Fe, Mn, Cu, Ni, Zn, Co, Cr and Pb. The sampling was repeated in Carrizal, collecting roots and comparing A. dubius with green or red stems. No differences in the elemental composition were found in plants of different color. Leaves were more concentrated in N, P, K, Ca, Mg, Mn, Cu y Zn than roots (translocation or transfer factor, TF>1). A. dubius contained high levels of N, K, Ca, Mg, Fe and Zn, essential elements in the animal diet, with higher values in leaves than in flowers. However, control of the non essential elements that can be in inadequate concentrations to be consumed as food is necessary, as is the case for Cd, Al, Cr, Ni and Pb in the collected samples.

Palabras clave : Amaranto; Bledo; Nutrientes; Pira.