Quinoa - pseudocereal of the Chenopodiaceae family

Quinoa is the common name for Chenopodium quinoa, a flowering planting the amaranth family Amaranthaceae. It is a herbaceous annual plant grown as a grain crop primarily for its edible seeds. Because it is not a grass, it is a pseudocereal rather than a true cereal.

It is an annual dicotyledonous plant and grows about 1 to 1.5 meter in height. Quinoa seeds are used as substitute of rice.

Quinoa has been cultivated in six South American countries even before the Inca culture. Archeologic research indicates cultivation as long ago as 5000 years before Birth of Christus in Ayacucho in Peru and 3000 years BC in Chinchorro in Chile.

Нis plant was called “the mother grain” by the Incas and was considered a gift from their gods, used even for treating medical issues. Traditionally, quinoa seeds were roasted and cooked, added to soups, used as a cereal, and even fermented into beer or chichi.

Quinoa is rich in A, B, C and E vitamins even though content of vitamin C decreases during long-term storage. The protein content of quinoa seeds ranges between 11% and 19%. Moreover, quinoa seeds contain all nine essential amino acids (EAA) for proper human health.

Quinoa has a high biological value (73%), similar to that of beef (74%), and higher than those of white rice (56%), wheat (49%) and corn (36%). Quinoa also contains all ten essential amino acids, and its protein content ranges from 12.9 to 16.5%.

The carbohydrate content of quinoa seeds ranges between 49% and 68% (dry matter weight). Starch is the main biopolymer constituent of plant organs, and is the most abundant carbohydrate presents in the seeds.
Quinoa - pseudocereal of the Chenopodiaceae family