Accepted Manuscript

Analytical Methods

Assessment of the Nutritional Composition of Quinoa (Chenopodium quinoa

Willd.)

Verena Nowak, Juan Du, U. Ruth Charrondière

PII: S0308-8146(15)00302-7
DOI: http://dx.doi.org/10.1016/j.foodchem.2015.02.111
Reference: FOCH 17210

To appear in: Food Chemistry

Received Date: 1 July 2014

Revised Date: 7 December 2014
Accepted Date: 22 February 2015

Please cite this article as: Nowak, V., Du, J., Ruth Charrondière, U., Assessment of the Nutritional Composition of
Quinoa (Chenopodium quinoa Willd.), Food Chemistry (2015), doi: http://dx.doi.org/10.1016/j.foodchem.
2015.02.111

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 1 Assessment of the Nutritional Composition of Quinoa

2 (Chenopodium quinoa Willd.)

4 Authors:

6 Verena NOWAK1,*, Juan DU1, U. Ruth CHARRONDIÈRE1

1
7 Food and Agriculture Organization of the United Nations (FAO), Rome, Italy

8 Address: Viale delle Terme di Caracalla, 00153 Rome, Italy

9
*
10 Corresponding author, Verena Nowak, FAO.

11 Postal address: Viale delle Terme di Caracalla, 00153 Rome, Italy.

12 Telephone: +39 0657 0561 34 Fax: +39 0657 0563 03 Email: verena.nowak@fao.org

13

14
15 Assessment of the Nutritional Composition of Quinoa

16 (Chenopodium quinoa Willd.)

17

18 Authors:

19

20 Verena NOWAK1,*, Juan DU1, U. Ruth CHARRONDIÈRE1h

1
21 Food and Agriculture Organization of the United Nations (FAO), Rome, Italy

22 Address: Viale delle Terme di Caracalla, 00153 Rome, Italy

23
*
24 Corresponding author, Verena Nowak, FAO.

25 Postal Address: Viale delle Terme di Caracalla, 00153 Rome, Italy.

26 Telephone: +39 0657 0561 34 Fax: +39 0657 0563 03 Email: vnowak@gmx.at

27

28 Abstract

29

30 Quinoa (Chenopodium quinoa Willd.) is an ancient crop which can play an important role for

31 worldwide food security. The current review aimed at evaluating existing compositional data

32 which were compiled according to international standards. A limited number of data were

33 found that met the dataset quality criteria. In general, high variations in nutrient contents of

34 quinoa were observed per 100 g edible portion on fresh weight basis, for example: protein

35 (9.1-15.7 g), total fat (4.0-7.6 g) and dietary fibre (8.8-14.1 g). The variations of nutrient

36 values among different varieties and among different data sources were considerable. The
37 results show the nutritional potential of quinoa but they also demonstrate that more high-

38 quality analytical data of quinoa are needed, especially for minerals and vitamins.

39

40 Keywords: Chenopodium quinoa, pseudocereal, food composition, nutrient content, food

41 biodiversity, FAO

42

43 Highlights:

44 • Quinoa is an underutilized food with potential to contribute to food security

45 • Nutrient content variations between quinoa varieties are considerable

46 • Protein content: 9.1 to 15.7 g per 100 g edible portion (fresh weight)

47 • Total fat content: 4.0-7.6 g per 100 g edible portion (fresh weight)

48 • More high quality compositional data on quinoa are needed

49

50 1. Introduction

51

52 Quinoa (Chenopodium quiona Willd.) is a pseudocereal and is a native plant in the Andean

53 region. It grows at many different altitudes, from sea level to the height of Bolivian Altiplano

54 plateau and under various climate conditions. Quinoa has a broad genetic diversity, which

55 allows it to adapt to various tough environments, such as highland and frost (Jacobsen,

56 2003). It is one of the few crops that grows on high salinity level soil in Southern Bolivia and

57 Northern Chile (Jacobsen, Quispe, & Mujica, 2000). The history of its human consumption

58 reaches back 5000 years (Ando et al., 2002; Oelke, Putnam, Teynor, & Oplinger, 2012). The

59 edible seeds of quinoa are small, round and flat. Seed colours can range from white to grey

60 and black, or can be yellow and red. It is consumed as breakfast food as well as staple food
61 similar to maize and potato. Quinoa was a common staple food in the Andean region in the

62 past, but tends to be replaced with cheaper imported food such as rice and pasta (Repo-

63 Carrasco-Valencia, Espinoza, & Jacobsen, 2003).

64

65 Today, quinoa is known for its high protein content and quality, i.e. a balanced amino acid

66 spectrum with high contents of lysine and methionine (Abugoch James, 2009; Galwey,

67 Leakey, Price, & Fenwick, 1990; Kozioł, 1992; Wright, Pike, Fairbanks, & Huber, 2002). It

68 contains a considerable amount of fibre and minerals, such as calcium and iron (Ando et al.,

69 2002). It is also rich in antioxidants such as polyphenols (Hirose, Fujita, Ishii, & Ueno, 2010;

70 Repo-Carrasco-Valencia, Hellström, Pihlava, & Mattila, 2010; Repo-Carrasco-Valencia &

71 Serna, 2011). Moreover, quinoa is considered gluten-free and, therefore, suitable for celiac

72 patients as well as people who have wheat allergy (Abugoch James, 2009; Caperuto, Amaya-

73 Farfan, & Camargo, 2001; Jacobsen, 2003; Kozioł, 1992). Those features distinguish quinoa

74 from other conventional cereals; therefore, it attracts increasing interest worldwide.

75 However, recent studies showed that certain quinoa cultivars have celiac-toxic epitopes

76 (location on an antigen that interacts with antibodies) that can activate immune responses

77 in some patients with celiac disease (Zevallos, Ellis, Suligoj, Herencia, & Ciclitira, 2012) and a

78 consumption of 50 g of quinoa consumed over 6 weeks can be considered as safe (Zevallos

79 et al., 2014).

80

81 Besides nutrients, quinoa contains bitter and toxic compounds (e.g. saponins), especially in

82 the hull. Therefore, quinoa in most cases is dehulled/polished and washed (Lopez-Garcia,

83 2007). Research is focusing on developing effective dehulling methods to remove saponins

84 and on cultivating new ‘sweet’ cultivars that contain less saponins (Galwey et al., 1990;
 85 Kozioł, 1991; Reichert, Tatarynovich, & Tyler, 1986). Because of its high nutritive potential

86 and genetic diversity, quinoa is classified by FAO as one of humanity’s promising crops that

87 can contribute to food security in the 21st century (FAO Regional Office for Latin America and

88 the Caribbean & PROINPA, 2011). The United Nations has declared 2013 the International

89 Year of Quinoa, which aims at focusing global attention on the role it can play in contributing

90 to food security, nutrition and poverty eradication and policies (Burlingame, Charrondiere,

91 Dernini, Stadlmayr, & Mondovì, 2012; FAO, 2013).

92

93 The International Network of Food Data Systems (INFOODS) aims at improving the quality

94 and availability of food composition data worldwide (FAO/INFOODS, 2012a), including those

95 on foods counting for biodiversity. Within this context, the FAO/INFOODS Food Composition

96 Database for Biodiversity was developed with the aim of mainstreaming biodiversity into

97 nutrition-related programs and policies. It is a unique repository of analytical data on the

98 composition of wild and underutilized foods as well as on different varieties and breeds of

99 commonly consumed foods (FAO/INFOODS, 2012a).

100

101 Several reviews on the nutrient content of quinoa already exist (Abugoch James, 2009;

102 Alvarez-Jubete, Arendt, & Gallagher, 2010; Jancurová, Minarovičová, & Dandár, 2009; Vega-

103 Gálvez et al., 2010). However, data were seldomly presented per edible portion on a fresh

104 weight basis which is the expression required for the use in food composition databases and

105 tables. Therefore, the primary aim of this study was to collect data expressed as per edible

106 portion on a fresh weight basis (EP) following FAO/INFOODS guidelines to ensure a certain

107 level of data quality. Furthermore, the available data on the nutritional composition of
108 quinoa and its nutrient profile should be evaluated with an emphasis on varietal differences,

109 where possible.

110

111 2. Materials and Methods

112 2.1 Literature search and data acceptance

113

114 A thorough literature search on the nutritional composition of quinoa was performed in

115 April and May 2012 using the abstract and citation databases Scopus and Science Direct. As

116 only few publications are available on quinoa, the search was done using the very general

117 term “quinoa” in “Article Title, Abstract, Key words”. The data for whole seed, seed

118 flour/milled seed or extruded seed were all accepted. References of the relevant articles

119 were cross-checked to obtain relevant articles that have not been found during the general

120 search. Nutritional data at or below species level (variety/cultivar/ecotype) were considered.

121

122 An initial data inspection was conducted. Only the data that met the following criteria were

123 included: data were expressed or assumed as per 100 g edible portion on fresh weight basis

124 (EP) or data could be transformed to per 100 g EP; i.e. data were originally expressed on dry

125 matter basis but could be transformed to EP as the measured moisture contents on fresh

126 weight basis were given. Exceptions were made for amino acids and minerals because of the

127 lack of available data expressed as g per 100 g EP. Amino acid contents were presented as g

128 per 100 g protein, and mineral contents as mg per 100 g dry matter (DM).

129

130 2.2 Standardization and data check

131
132 Among the data sources, a considerable amount of different data expressions was found.

133 For example, some used percentage of DM for macronutrients while others used g per 100 g

134 EP. Therefore, to enable comparisons and evaluation, a standardization of data expressions

135 was necessary. All data were standardized to g, mg or µg per 100 g EP unless stated

136 differently. The recalculations were carried out according to the FAO/INFOODS Guidelines on

137 Conversion among Different Units, Denominators and Expressions (FAO/INFOODS, 2012b).

138 Additionally, quality checks on the data were carried out according to the FAO/INFOODS

139 Guidelines on Checking Food Composition Data prior to the Publication of a User

140 Database/Table (FAO/INFOODS, 2012c). For example, the sum of proximates (moisture,

141 protein, fat, carbohydrates, fibre, alcohol and ash) needed to be within the acceptable range

142 of 95-105. In some cases, the literature source did not clearly state whether data were

143 presented on a DM basis or as per EP. In those cases, if the sum of proximates was within

144 this range, the assumption of fresh weight expression was made and the data were kept.

145

146 2.3 Compilation of data into the FAO/INFOODS Food Composition Database for

147 Biodiversity

148

149 All scrutinized data on quinoa were included in the FAO/INFOODS Food Composition

150 Database for Biodiversity Version 2.1 (BioFoodComp2.1) and expressed as per 100 g EP.

151 BioFoodComp2.1 is an archival food composition database in Microsoft Excel that includes

152 data below species level and on wild or underutilized foods (Charrondière et al., 2013;

153 INFOODS, 2013). As quinoa is considered as an underutilized food, all quinoa data, whether

154 on species level or below, could be included. The food descriptions such as food name in

155 English, processing and cultivar/variety/ecotype were compiled as detailed as described in

156 the articles. The INFOODS component identifiers (also called tagnames) (FAO/INFOODS,

157 2012d) were used to describe food components unambiguously. Assignment of tagnames

158 was done by carefully evaluating the analytical methods for certain components as different

159 tagnames exist depending on the analytical methods and definitions. When an analytical

160 method could not be assigned to a method-specific tagname, the corresponding tagname

161 indicating “unknown method” was used and comments were added.

162

163 3. Results and Discussion

164

165 Data from 27 met the quality criteria and were compiled into the database. They contributed

166 to 103 data lines comprising 862 data points. The majority of food entries (68) were from

167 food samples from South America, mainly from Peru and Bolivia, followed by data from

168 Europe (23) and Asia and Northern America (each 6) which reflects the traditional

169 production area of quinoa in South America.

170

171 The component groups of amino acids and aggregations comprised the largest percentage of

172 data points (11%), followed by water (10%), dietary fiber (10%), and fatty acids and

173 aggregations (9%) (Table 1). A relatively high number of data were on phytochemicals such

174 as flavonoids (5%), phenolic acids (5%), and plant sterols (5%) which derive mainly from two

175 articles exclusively describing the compositions of phytochemicals (Pulvento et al., 2012;

176 Reichert et al., 1986). Plant sterol values are exclusively saponins, which are the major

177 antinutrients in quinoa, therefore, a number of articles were found to study their content in

178 quinoa. Data on amino acids were mostly for essential amino acids. A well-balanced amino

179 acid profile is considered a feature of quinoa, which matches the high amount of data found.
180
181 An overview of the articles from the literature search is shown in Table 2. Some articles

182 analysed a comprehensive nutrient profile of quinoa while others focused on only a few

183 components. Most data were on raw and less on processed quinoa.

184

185 In the following, our analytical data found on nutrients, bio-active compounds and

186 antinutrients of quinoa are presented and compared to data on quinoa and/or other cereals

187 from food composition tables or databases from the USDA (U.S. Department of Agriculture,

188 Agricultural Research Service, 2013), Bolivia (Instituto Nacional de Laboratorios de Salud

189 (INLASA), 2005), Peru (Centro nacional de alimentación y nutrición instituto nacional de

190 salud, 2009), ASEAN (Institute of Nutrition, Mahidol University, 2014), or to human

191 requirements patterns (FAO/WHO/UNU, 1985).

192

193 Table 3 shows a summary of the proximate compositions and the varietal variations of

194 quinoa from BioFoodComp2.1 and USDA nutrient database. Only data on raw food are

195 presented. The nutrient contents of quinoa varied considerably, where the highest value

196 could be double or triple the amount of the lowest one. Varietal information on the

197 highest/lowest values was not always available. The highest protein content of quinoa

198 (variety unknown) was 15.7 g/100 g EP, which was 70% higher than the lowest variety

199 ‘Blanca de Juli’ in Peru (9.1 g/100 g EP) (Aguilar, Guevara, & Alvarez, 1979). The ecotype 03-

200 21-1181 in Peru had the lowest fat content (4.0 g/100 g EP) (Repo-Carrasco-Valencia et al.,

201 2010), which was almost half of the highest one (7.6 g/100 g EP). The ash content of 'Blanca

202 de Juli’ in Peru (7.7 g/100 g EP) (Aguilar et al., 1979) was three times that of ’Puno’ in Serbia

203 (2.3 g/100 g EP) (Aguilar et al., 1979). There were no clear explanations for the differences in
204 proximate compositions in the literature. The differences are possibly due to the interactions

205 of several factors, such as varieties/cultivars, analytical methods and environmental

206 conditions (Greenfield & Southgate, 2003; Toledo & Burlingame, 2006).

207

208 In order to verify the validity of the data on proximates compiled and presented in this

209 paper, the ranges and averages were compared with the analytical data on uncooked quinoa

210 from the USDA nutrient database (U.S. Department of Agriculture, Agricultural Research

211 Service, 2013). In general, the ranges of the data on raw quinoa compiled in

212 BioFoodComp2.1 were wider than those in the USDA nutrient database, possibly due to the

213 higher number of samples as well as through the inclusion of more genetic and

214 environmental variations. Regarding the averages, the water and protein contents of quinoa

215 in BioFoodComp2.1 were considerably lower than those of the USDA nutrient database,

216 while the fibre and ash contents were considerably higher in BioFoodComp2.1. Moreover,

217 the water content and the fibre content in the USDA nutrient database were outside the

218 ranges of the data compiled in BioFoodComp2.1.

219

220 The contents of fibre from the two databases showed biggest differences: our mean dietary

221 fibre (Prosky and similar method) was much higher (11.7 ± 1.7) than in the USDA nutrient

222 database. As expected, the crude fibre value (3.3 ± 2.0) was significantly lower, due to the

223 fact that dietary fibre includes more fibre factions (i.e. more complete). The study of Repo-

224 Carrasco-Valencia and Serna (2011) demonstrates that these differences are not due to

225 varieties but are true analytical differences. They measured both dietary fibre and crude

226 fibre in four varieties of quinoa. On average, crude fibre (2.2 g/100 g EP) accounted for only
227 18% of dietary fibre content (12.6 g/100 g EP). Therefore, crude fibre analysis should be

228 discontinued to be used for human nutrition.

229

230 Pulvento et al. (2012) suggested that available carbohydrates in quinoa not only include

231 starch but also other components. They measured the starch content of quinoa and

232 calculated the fibre content by difference, resulting in high fibre values higher than all other

233 dietary fibre values in BioFoodComp2.1. Further investigations on the nature of non-starch

234 available carbohydrates are needed.

235

236 As shown in Table 3, compared to selected conventional grains (wheat, corn and rice),

237 quinoa has the highest content of protein (13.1 g/100 g EP) and total fat (5.7 g/100 g EP),

238 and the second highest dietary fibre content (11.7 g/100 g EP), which makes it highly

239 interesting regarding food security aspects.

240

241 A balanced pattern of essential amino acids is one of the main features of quinoa. Table 4

242 presents the essential amino acid composition as g/100 g protein of our data of raw quinoa,

243 raw corn and rice from other sources, and compares them to the FAO/WHO/UNU suggested

244 patterns for the amino acid requirements of adults (WHO/FAO/UNU, 2007). All essential

245 amino acids were found to be present in quinoa and the amino acid pattern is close to the

246 requirements. Specifically, quinoa proteins are high in lysine (4.8 g/100 g protein) and

247 threonine (3.7 g/100 g protein), which are in general the limiting amino acids in conventional

248 cereals, for instance, wheat and maize (I. Dini, Tenore, & Dini, 2005; Wright et al., 2002).

249 Quinoa has a similar amino acid composition as rice with higher contents in especially lysine

250 (4.8 g/100 g protein), but lower contents in leucine (6.0 g/100 g protein) and valine (3.7
251 g/100 g protein). When comparing the average values in raw quinoa with those values in

252 FAO/WHO/UNU suggested patterns for adults, it can be seen that quinoa proteins have

253 higher or adequate concentrations of the essential amino acids. The lower ends of the

254 ranges of amino acid contents in quinoa are still sufficient for adults.

255

256 Data on fatty acids and aggregations of fatty acids (e.g. the sum of monounsaturated fatty

257 acids) accounted for 9% of the total data compiled. However, data on individual fatty acids

258 are scarce and data that could be expressed as per EP were available only for six food

259 entries. The major fatty acid components in quinoa (raw and milled), rice and soybean are

260 shown in Table 5. Our data confirmed the high degree of unsaturation in quinoa fat, as

261 stated in the literature (Alvarez-Jubete, Arendt, & Gallagher, 2009; Alvarez-Jubete et al.,

262 2010; Kozioł, 1992; Ruales & Nair, 1992). Compared with the fatty acid composition of rice,

263 quinoa contains over 20 times more unsaturated fatty acids, especially linoleic acid (C18:2).

264 Comparing the fatty acid composition of quinoa to that of soybean, quinoa contains

265 approximately half of unsaturated fatty acids and 10 times less saturated fatty acids

266 (Abugoch James, 2009; Ando et al., 2002; A. Dini, Rastrelli, Saturnino, & Schettino, 1992).

267 These differences are also due to the lower fat content in rice and higher fat content in

268 soybeans.

269

270 Data on mineral contents made up 11% of the compiled data, however, only four relatively

271 complete sets of data were on raw quinoa. As most of the data available from literature

272 were on dry matter basis (DM), it was decided to present mineral data exceptionally on DM

273 and convert data from other sources to mg/100 g DM (see Table 6). As shown among the

274 different sources (Alvarez-Jubete et al. (2009), Bruin (1964), Chauhan et al. (1992), Dini et al.
275 (2005), Konishi et al. (2004) Ranhotra et al. (1993), White et al. (1955)), mineral contents of

276 quinoa varied considerably, which was also found in several review articles (Kozioł, 1992;

277 Ruales & Nair, 1992; Vega-Gálvez et al., 2010). Reasons for variations were not well

278 explained in the literature even though Vega-Gálvez et al. (2010) suggested that soil type

279 and composition, and fertilizer application might play a role. This is in accordance with the

280 general knowledge on the variation of mineral contents in plant foods. Mineral contents of

281 quinoa acquired from our literature search had wider ranges and higher values, especially

282 for calcium, iron, potassium and sodium, compared with values from food composition

283 tables (Centro nacional de alimentación y nutrición instituto nacional de salud, 2009;

284 Instituto Nacional de Laboratorios de Salud (INLASA), 2005; U.S. Department of Agriculture,

285 Agricultural Research Service, 2013). Quinoa has higher mineral contents compared to other

286 cereals (wheat, corn and rice), especially for calcium (87 mg/100 g DM), iron (9.47 mg/100 g

287 DM), potassium (907 mg/100 g DM), and magnesium (362 mg/100 g DM). Additionally, iron

288 in quinoa was suggested to have a good bioavailability (Kozioł, 1992).

289

290 Quinoa also contains health-promoting or bio-active compounds such as flavonoids. The

291 data on flavonoids and phenolic acids each represented 5% of all data and were derived

292 from only two publications (Hirose et al., 2010; Repo-Carrasco-Valencia et al., 2010).

293 Common cereals do not contain flavonoids, however, their content in quinoa is exceptionally

294 high (average of 58 mg/100 g EP with a range of 36-73 mg/100 g EP). The most important

295 components are flavonols (average of 174 mg/100 g EP with a range of 130-193 mg/100 g

296 EP), quercetin (average of 36 mg/100 g EP with a range of 12-56 mg/100 g EP) and

297 kaempferol (average of 20 mg/100 g EP with a range of 0.5-54 mg/100 g EP).

298
299 Quinoa contains significant amounts of saponins which are toxic substances. Saponins refer

300 to glycosidic triterpenoids or sterols, most of which impart a bitter flavour and are toxic.

301 They can be found in many plants and their toxicity is determined by both the type of the

302 saponins and the methods of absorption in the body (Kozioł, 1992). The amount of saponins

303 depends mainly on the variety/cultivar/ecotype and the processing of quinoa, such as

304 washing or dehulling. Quinoa is commonly classified as “sweet” or “bitter”, which reflects its

305 saponins content. Sweet varieties such as ‘Sajama’ contain much less saponins than bitter

306 ones, such as ‘Amarilla de Junin’. However, the different analytical methods used (e.g.

307 afrosimetric, haemolytic or gas-chromatographic method) can also contribute to the

308 variation of the saponins content in quinoa. The content varied significantly from 5 mg/100 g

309 EP for the variety ‘Perulac’ (raw, polished) analysed with the afrosimetric method to

310 1561 mg/100 g EP for the variety ‘Titicaca’ (raw) determined with gas-chromatographic

311 method. The studies of Pulvento et al. (2012) and Gómez-Caravaca et al. (2012) both

312 concluded that different levels of irrigation and water salinity could also affect the saponins

313 content within the same cultivar (Titicaca and Q52). They suggested that the saponins

314 content increases with higher levels of water salinity and decreased with lower irrigation

315 levels. Although saponins were widely considered as antinutrients, recent research has

316 shown that saponins may have anticarcinogenic, cholesterol lowering and anti-inflammatory

317 properties (Alvarez-Jubete et al., 2010; Güçlü-Üstündağ & Mazza, 2007; Kuljanabhagavad &

318 Wink, 2009).

319

320 There were only few analytical data found on vitamins (1%) which could be expressed as per

321 EP; for raw quinoa only vitamin values were only available for raw quinoa (thiamin 0.52

322 mg/100 g EP; niacin 1.6 mg/100 g EP, and riboflavin 0.31 mg/100 g EP). According to
323 Ranhotra et al. (1993), quinoa contains less thiamin and niacin but more riboflavin than most

324 grains. However, in the opinion of Alvarez-Jubete et al. (2009) and Taylor and Parker (2002),

325 quinoa is a good source of riboflavin, thiamin and folate. In addition, quinoa is said to

326 contain a high amount of vitamin E and Vitamin B6 (Abugoch James, 2009; Coulter & Lorenz,

327 1990), as shown by Kozioł (1992): α-Tocopherol ranged from 1.5 to 4.5 mg/100 g DM and

328 vitamin B 6 from 0.5 to 0.8 mg/100 g DM (ranges of 4 varieties). However, those data were

329 expressed on DM basis and therefore could not be included in BioFoodComp2.1. More

330 analyses on vitamin contents of quinoa are needed in order to have a better view of its

331 vitamin profile.

332

333 4. Conclusions

334

335 Quinoa is a crop with great potentials to contribute to worldwide food security. It is rich in

336 nutrients, such as amino acids and some minerals. Varietal and environmental differences in

337 the content of nutrients, bio-active compounds and saponins are considerable in quinoa,

338 which is important from agricultural and nutritional perspectives. Therefore, to enhance the

339 awareness and utilization of different varieties of quinoa, more emphasis should be put on

340 generating and reporting data at and below species level.

341

342 There is a need for more nutrient analyses and accessible publications on quinoa. Besides

343 the quantity, a greater amount of high-quality data is desired with a wider coverage of

344 components. It is assumed that some compositional data have been generated in different

345 countries/regions but only a few of them were published in the scientific literature.
346 Moreover, the analytical methods used by researchers are sometimes out-dated, for

347 example the analysis of crude fibre is not recommended anymore.

348

349 To facilitate the informed decision-making of consumers, policy makers and food industries

350 concerning the usage of quinoa, a higher amount of high-quality analytical data on

351 nutritional composition of quinoa under different conditions as well as on different varieties

352 are necessary.

353

354 Acknowledgment

355

356 The authors are grateful to Dr. Catriona M.M. Lakemond for her advice.

357 Acknowledgment for financial contribution: Food and Agriculture Organization of the United

358 Nations (FAO), Nutrition Division (ESN).

359

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600
601 Table 1 Number of data points per component group

Proximates and fractions Number of data points % of data points

Water 84 10
Carbohydrates (total or available) 38 4
Sugars 10 1
Polysaccharides 16 2
Dietary fiber 85 10
Ash 57 7
Total fat 58 7
Fatty acids and aggregations 76 9
Fat components 6 1
Protein 57 7
Amino acids and aggregations 93 11
Organic acids 11 1
Vitamins 11 1
Minerals and trace elements 91 11
Flavonoids 47 5
Phenolic acids 40 5
Saponins 36 4
Phospholipids 10 1
Other* 36 4
Total 862 100
*toxic trace element (1), ammonium (1), fatty acid conversion factor (1), nitrogen-to-
protein conversion factor (33)
602

603
604 Table 2 Overview of the 27 articles and their nutritional data on quinoa included in

605 BioFoodComp2.1 (FAO/INFOODS, 2013)

References Variety/cultivar/ Processing stage Period of Nutrients analysed

ecotype data
collection
Aguilar et al., 1979 Kcancolla, Blanca de Juli, Raw na Proximates
Sajama, Witulla, Blanca
de Junin
Ando et al., 2002 Real TKW Raw and milled 1998 Proximates, fatty acids
c
and others
A. Dini et al., 1992 Perlada Extracted 1987 Proximates, fatty acids
and other lipids, minerals,
c
amino acids and others
Collar & Angioloni, NA Milled na Proximates
2014
Dogan & Karwe, NA Milled na Proximates and othersc
2003
Elgeti et al., 2014 NA Milled na Proximates
Enriquez, Peltzer, NA Milled na Proximates and othersc
Raimundi, Tosi, &
Pollio, 2003
Hager, Wolter, NA Raw na Proximates, minerals,
Jacob, Zannini, & fatty acids, organic acids
Arendt, 2012
Hirose, Fujita, Ishii, NL-6 Raw 2005-2008 Phytochemicals
& Ueno, 2010
Kozioł, 1991 Sajama, Perulac, Raw na Saponins
Porotok, LR-013
Kozioł, 1992 NA Raw na Proximates and amino
a
acids
Nascimento et al., NA Raw na Proximates, minerals
2014
Ogungbenle, 2003 NA Dry-milled na Proximates, minerals,
c
sugars and others
Ogungbenle, NA Milled na Proximates and othersc
Oshodi, &
Oladimeji, 2009
Oshodi, H.N. NA Dry-milled NA Proximats, minerals and
Ogungbenle, M.O. othersc
Oladi, 1999
Przybylski, NA Raw and milled na Fatty acids and other
Chauhan, & Eskin, lipids
1994
Pulvento et al., Titicaca Raw 2009 and Proximates, saponins and
c
2012 2012 others
Ranhotra, Gelroth, D407 Dehulled quinoa na Proximates, minerals,
a
Glaser, Lorenz, & flour vitamins, amino acids ,
b c
Johnson, 1993 minerals and others
Reichert et al., Oca suca, Blanca de Juli, Raw 1980 Saponins
1986 Blanca de Junin, Puno 8-
80, Puno -15, Kancolla,
Cheweca, Kancolla
Rosanna, Real, Kaslala,
 Wila Coymini, Janku,
Kellu, Puca, Pasancalla,
Amarilla de Junin
Repo-Carrasco- Ccoito, INIA-415 Raw 2007-2008 Proximates,
Valencia et al., Pasankalla, Roja de phytochemicals and
c
2010 Coporaque, Witulla, 03- others
21-0093, Salcedo
Huaripongo, 03-21-1181
c
Repo-Carrasco- Blanca de juli, Kcancolla, Raw and na Proximates and others
Valencia & Serna, La Molina 89, Sajama extruded
2011
Rosell, Cortez, & Rosada Debittered and 2006 Proximates and othersc
Repo-Carrasco, milled
2009
Ruales, Grijalva, Cochasqui Cooked na Proximates, minerals,
Lopez-Jaramillo, & vitamins, sugars, fatty
Nair, 2002 acids, amino acids and
c
others
Schumacher et al., NA Roasted na Proximates, amino acids
c
2010 and others
Stikic et al., 2012 Puno KVL 37 Raw 2009 Proximates, minerals,
amino acids
White et al., 1955 NA Raw na Proximates, minerals,
a
vitamins, amino acids
c
and others
a
Wright, Pike, Surumi Raw na Proximates, amino acids
c
Fairbanks, & and others
Huber, 2002
606 Proximates include water, carbohydrate, fat, protein, ash, and dietary fiber; NA: not available; a

607 amino acid contents expressed as g/100 g protein; b mineral contents expressed as mg/100 g DM; c

608 others include conversion factors and ammonia

Table 3 Proximate composition of quinoa (raw) and varieties with the highest/lowest values from BioFoodComp2.1, as compared to uncooked quinoa in the

USDA nutrient database; data presented as per 100 g edible portion.

Nutrients Quinoa, raw a Variety/cultivar/ecotype Variety/cultivar/ecotype Quinoa Corn, yellow b Wheat, Rice,
mean, min-max, with lowest value a with highest value a uncooked b hard white,
(n) (sampling place) white b polished,
raw c

1
Energy (kJ) 1505 ‘Titicaca’ (Italy, Vitulazio) INIA-415 ‘Pasankalla’ (Peru, 1493 1531 1436 1501
1399-1609 Puno)
(n=34)
Energy (kcal)1 357 354 363 340 354
333-381
(n=34)
Water (g) 10.1 ‘Surumi’ (Bolivia, ‘Kcancolla’ (Peru, Pono) 13.3 10.4 9.6 11.7
8.2-13.1 Letanias)
(n=64)
Total Protein (g) 13.1 ‘Blanca de Juli’ (Peru, ‘Puno’ (Serbia, Belgrade) 14.1 9.4 11.3 6.8
9.1-15.7 Pono)
(n=37)
Total Fat (g) 5.7 03-21-1181 (Peru, Puno) INIA-415 ‘Pasankalla’ (Peru, 6.1 4.7 1.7 0.7
4.0-7.6 Puno)
(n=37)
Available 59.9 ‘Titicaca’ ‘Roja de Coporaque’ (Peru, 57.16 67.0 63.7 79.7
2
Carbohydrates (g) 48.5-69.8 (Italy, Vitulazio) Puno)
(n=34)
Total dietary Fibre 11.7 ‘Surumi’ (Bolivia, ‘La Molina 89’ (Peru, Lima) 7.0 7.3 12.2 0.6
(Prosky and similar 8.8-14.1 Letanias)
3
methods) (g) (n=7)
Crude Fibre (g) 3.3 ‘Blanca de Junin’ (Peru, ‘Puno’ (Serbia, Belgrade) NA NA NA NA
1
1.0-9.2 Cuzco)
(n=23)
Ash (g) 3.3 ‘Puno’ (Serbia, Belgrade) ‘Blanca de Juli’ (Peru, Pono) 2.4 1.2 1.5 0.5
2.0-7.7
(n=37)
a
BioFoodComp2.1, where n represents the number of data points; b USDA nutrient database (U.S. Department of Agriculture, Agricultural Research Service,

2013); c data source ASEAN Food composition table (Institute of Nutrition, Mahidol University, 2014); 1 energy calculated according to FAO/INFOODS guidelines

(FAO/INFOODS, 2012b); 2 calculated as 100-(moisture+protein+fat+ash+fibre+alcohol); NA: not available

 1 Table 4 Essential amino acid profiles of raw quinoa and rice, and suggested patterns of requirements

2 for adults (g/100 g protein)

Quinoa, rawa Quinoa, Rice, white, short- Corn, Requirements

mean, min-max, uncooked grain, raw b yellow b for adults c
(n) b

His 2.7 2.9 2.4 3 1.5

1.4-5.4 (n=41)
Ile 3.1 3.6 4.3 3.6 3
0.8-7.4 (n=42)
Leu 6 5.9 8.3 12.3 5.9
2.3-9.4 (n=42)
Lys 4.8 5.4 3.6 2.8 4.5
2.4-7.8 (n=42)
Met 1.9 2.2 2.4 2.1 1.6
0.3-9.1 (n=41)
Cys 1.4 1.4 2 1.8 0.6
0.1-2.7 (n=11)
Phe+Tyr 6.3 6.1 8.7 9 3.8
2.7-10.3 (n=41)
Thr 3.7 3 3.6 3.8 2.3
2.1-8.9 (n=42)
Trp 0.9 1.2 1.2 0.7 0.6
0.6-1.9 (n=27)
Val 3.7 4.2 6.1 5.1 3.9
0.8-6.1 (n=42)
3 n: number of data points; a values derived from the following articles: Becker and Hanners (1990),

4 Coulter and Lorenz (1991), A. Dini et al. (1992), I. Dini et al. (2005), Escuredo et al. (2014), Gonzales et

5 al. (2012), Koziol et al. (1992), Miranda et al. (2012), Stikic et al. (2012), White at al. (1955), Ruales

6 and Nair (1992), Wright et al. (2002); b adapted from the USDA nutrient database (U.S. Department

7 of Agriculture, Agricultural Research Service, 2013); c adapted from WHO/FAO/UNU (2007) suggested

8 indispensable amino acid requirements for adults (‘present estimates’)

10

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11 Table 5 Selected fatty acids of raw quinoa, quinoa flour, rice and soybean (g/100 g edible portion)

Myristic acid Palmitic acid Stearic acid Oleic acid Linoleic Linolenic acid
(C14:0) (C16: 0) (C18:0) (C18:1) acid (C18:3)
(C18:2)
Quinoa, rawa 0.015 0.008 0.046 1.604 4.256 0.509
(n=1)
a
Quinoa flour 0.011 0.486 0.039 1.402 3.156 0.401
(n=3)
Rice, white, 0.003 0.125 0.010 0.159 0.114 0.024
short-grain,
b
raw

Soybean, 0.055 2.116 0.712 4.348 9.925 1.33

mature seeds,
b
raw
a b
BioFoodComp2.1; data are from the USDA nutrient database (USDA, 2013); ‘n’ represents the number of data
points.
12

13

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14 Table 6 Mineral contents of raw quinoa (average and range), wheat, corn and rice (mg/100 g DM)

Ca Fe Mg P K Na Zn Cu
Quinoa, own data a 87 9.47 362 406 907 20 2.15 7.84
raw 28- 2.6-15 207-502 350-482 656- 11-31 0.79- 5.7-
149 (n=10) (n=8) (n=9) 1475(n=7) (n=4) 4 9.5
(n=10) (n=9) (n=5)
b
Bolivia 113 5.02 na 251 na na na na
(102- (3.1-6.7) (239-
119) 275)
c
Peru 63 8.47 na 273 na na 3.73 na
d
USDA 54 5.27 227 527 649 6 3.57 0.68
Wheat, USDA d 35 5.04 103 393 478 2 3.68 0.40
hard white
Corn, USDA d 8 3.02 142 234 320 39 2.47 0.35
yellow
Rice, white, USDA d 22 1.36 na 119 80 31 0.57 0.11
polished,
raw
15 na: not available; a average of raw quinoa from the following publications: Alvarez-Jubete et al.

16 (2009), Bruin (1964), Chauhan et al. (1992), Dini et al. (2005), Konishi et al. (2004) Ranhotra et al.

17 (1993), White et al. (1955); b calculated as mean of 6 varieties of the Bolvian Food Composition Table

18 (Instituto Nacional de Laboratorios de Salud (INLASA), 2005); c value of food entry ‘quinua’ of the

19 Peruvian Food Composition Table (Ministerio de Salud (Perú) & Instituto Nacional de Salud, 2009); d

20 adapted from the USDA nutrient database (U.S. Department of Agriculture, Agricultural Research

21 Service, 2013): Quinoa, uncooked

22

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