**2. A brief of origin and distribution of pseudo-cereals**

There are nearly 70 *Amaranthus* species under the family Amaranthceae out of which 17 species produces edible leaves and three species produces grains. *A. viridis* and *A. spinosus* might have originated from south and central America and today they are distributed over tropical and subtropical regions of Africa, South-East Asia, America, and in temperate Europe [3]. *A. aspera* is an herbaceous plant indigenous to Africa and Asia but is now found in nearly 60 tropical and subtropical countries [4]. Genera *Celosia* consists of 60 species all around the world. *C. argentea* is an erect, annual, herbaceous vegetable and is distributed in tropical and subtropical parts of the globe such as South Asia, Africa, and America [5, 6]. *C. album* belonging to the Chenopodiaceae family is an annual plant which is found in wild and is cultivated throughout India. Besides India, it is widely distributed in Europe, North America, Asia, and in different parts of Iran [7].
