Food Chemistry 357 (2021) 129752

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Food Chemistry
journal homepage: www.elsevier.com/locate/foodchem

Quinoa sprouts as potential vegetable source: Nutrient composition and

functional contents of different quinoa sprout varieties
Liqing Le a, 1, Xuxiao Gong a, 1, Qi An a, Dabing Xiang a, b, Liang Zou a, b, Lianxin Peng a, b,
Xiaoyong Wu a, b, Maoling Tan a, b, Zhongli Nie b, Qi Wu a, b, Gang Zhao a, b, Yan Wan a, b, *
a
Key Laboratory of Coarse Cereal Processing, Ministry of Agriculture and Rural Affairs, Chengdu University, Chengluo road 2025, Shiling town, Longquanyi District,
Chengdu 610106, Sichuan Province, People’s Republic of China
b
Sichuan Engineering & Technology Research Center of Coarse Cereal Industralization, School of Food and Biological Engineering, Chengdu University, Chengdu
610106, Sichuan Province, People’s Republic of China

A R T I C L E I N F O A B S T R A C T

Keywords: Quinoa has a long history of cultivation and unique nutritional value. Quinoa sprouts can be eaten as leafy
Quinoa vegetables, but their nutritional quality is unknown. Ten quinoa sprout varieties (lines) were evaluated and
Sprout compared for nutrient and functional composition. All quinoa sprout varieties had high contents of moisture
Bioactive component
content, reducing sugar, potassium, magnesium, and vitamin C. All varieties contained all essential amino acids,
Amino acid
Mineral composition
with leucine present in abundance. They had high contents of phenolics, flavonoids, carotenoids (β-carotene and
lycopene) as well as chlorophylls a and b. Overall, var. LL-01 had better nutrient and phytochemical composition
than other varieties. The potential nutritional health benefits of quinoa sprouts as a vegetable are important for
both traditional and contemporary diets.

1. Introduction
Sprouts are the product of germination and growth of seeds or other
vegetative storage organs under light and dark conditions (Renna, Gioia,
Leoni, & Santamaria, 2016). Sprouts are popular as raw vegetables in
Europe, Australia, the United States and Asia owing to adequate nutrient
comconts, health-promoting phytochemical compounds and favorable
sensory characteristics (Colonna, Rouphael, Barbieri, & De Pascale,
2016). Sprouts are rich in nutrients such as amino acids, peptides, vi­
tamins and minerals. The contents of antinutritional components in
sprouts, such as tannin, lectin, trypsin inhibitor and galactoside, are
lower than in nongerminated seeds (Wei, Wang, Shao, Xu, & Wang,
2019). Epidemiological investigations have shown that regular con­
sumption of sprouts can reduce the incidence of chronic diseases such as
inflammatory bowel disease, certain cancers, arthritis, ischemic stroke,
and cardiovascular and neurodegenerative disorders (Mir et al., 2021).
Today’s market offers various kinds of sprouts and sprouting seeds,
including soybean, peanut, mung bean, pea, watercress, broccoli, radish,
alfalfa, kale, buckwheat, and cabbage, among others (Renna et al.,
2016). Among them, soybean and mung bean sprouts are commonly
used as sources of protein and vitamins (Chon, Kim, & Kim, 2013).
Cabbage sprouts provide large amounts of vitamins C, kaempferol and
total phenolics (Šola et al., 2020). Broccoli sprouts are attractive to
consumers for their rich supply of phenolic compounds, vitamin C, di­
etary fiber and glucoraphanin (a sulforaphane precursor) (Lv et al.,
2020). Sprouts produced from seeds of peanuts, peas, buckwheat, rad­
ishes and other legumes are sold as health foods. These diverse and
nutritious sprout products are receiving much attention, not only in the
food industry, but also in the field of professional health care (Chon
et al., 2013).
Quinoa (Chenopodium quinoa Willd.) is a valuable medicinal and
edible dicotyledonous herbaceous plant. The high nutritional value of
quinoa stems from its balanced composition of proteins, amino acids,
fibers, minerals, and trace compounds (for instance vitamins and anti­
oxidants) (Vidueiros et al., 2015). The protein content of quinoa seeds is
as high as 11–19%, contributing an excellent proportion of the essential
amino acids (Angeli et al., 2020). Quinoa contains adequate levels of
essential therapeutic components such as saponins, polyphenols,

Abbreviations: TF, total flavonoids; TP, total phenolics; TS, total saponins.
* Corresponding author at: Key Laboratory of Coarse Cereal Processing, Ministry of Agriculture and Rural Affairs, Chengdu University, Chengdu 610106, China.
E-mail address: wanyanyanbest@126.com (Y. Wan).
1
These authors contributed equally to this work.

https://doi.org/10.1016/j.foodchem.2021.129752
Received 14 September 2020; Received in revised form 26 March 2021; Accepted 4 April 2021
Available online 8 April 2021
0308-8146/© 2021 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.
L. Le et al. Food Chemistry 357 (2021) 129752

fagopyritols, phytosterols and squalene (Lim, Park, & Yoon, 2020).
Among these compounds, phenols are antioxidants that can serve to
prevent diabetes, allergies, acute inflammation and cardiovascular dis­
eases (Park, Lee, Kim, & Yoon, 2017). Moreover, quinoa saponins have
anti-inflammatory, antifungal and immune adjuvant activities, and they
are not toxic to humans (Lim et al., 2020).
Quinoa sprouts have appreciable nutritional and functional value.
They are rich in total phenolics (TP) and total flavonoids (TF) (Lim et al.,
2020). Analyses of oxygen radical absorption capacity (ORAC),
lipoxygenase/4-nitroso-N,N- dimethylaniline (LOX/RNO) and trolox
equivalent antioxidant capacity (TEAC) have shown high antioxidant
capacity of quinoa sprouts, indicating their potential as a nutraceutical
ingredient in the health food industry (Lim et al., 2020). In recent years,
researchers have focused on the nutritional and pro-health properties of
quinoa seeds (Zlotek et al., 2019). A few have found that quinoa sprouts
and leaves can serve as functional foods (Lim et al., 2020). However,
scientific information on the nutritional and functional quality of ready-
to-eat quinoa sprouts is lacking. The present research therefore had two
main purposes: (1) to characterize the main nutrient and functional
traits in terms of biomass, moisture content, reducing sugar, fat content,
amino acid, mineral, vitamin C, total content of flavonoids, phenolics
and saponins, and plant pigment of quinoa sprouts; (2) to comprehen­
sively evaluate nutritional and functional value of the ten quinoa sprout
varieties to meet the demands of a healthy diet as a vegetable, and
provide a basis for the development and utilization of quinoa sprouts.
2. Materials and methods
2.1. Plant materials and sample treatments
The experimental field is situated on the campus of Chengdu Uni­
versity, with an altitude of 512 m and an average annual temperature of
16 ◦ C. The seeds of 10 different Quinoa varieties: Z-10-Y, BL, TH, H-1, H-
2, TMH, H-1, H-3, LL-01 and LL-03, were acquired from the Key Pro­
cessing Laboratory of the Ministry of Agriculture and Rural Areas,
Chengdu University, Sichuan Province, China. Quinoa seeds were sown
on 5 Mar 2019, at a density of 3 g/m2. Local agronomic management of
irrigation, weed and insect control and fertilization was applied to the
quinoa sprouts.
Emerging quinoa sprouts were collected for morphological and
phytochemical analyses when they were about 10 cm high (about 25
days after sowing). Quinoa sprouts were cut at the soil surface (Fig. 1A),
without roots. Fresh samples were frozen in liquid nitrogen and stored at
− 80 ◦ C for further analysis.
2.2. Biomass, plant height, stem diameter and moisture content
At 25 days after sowing, 15 quinoa sprouts of each variety were
randomly selected to record plant height and stem diameter. To deter­
mine sprout moisture content, the fresh weight (FW) of 100 sprouts was
measured, then their dry weight (DW) was measured after oven-drying
at 80 ◦ C for 72 h. Moisture content (%) was calculated by the formula:
(FW- DW)/FW × 100 (AOAC, 2005).
2.3. Determination of reducing sugar and fat content
Reducing sugar content was determined according to the dini­
trosalicylic acid (DNS) method described by Piao et al. (2019). Briefly,
0.3 g of sample was added to a centrifuge tube with 5 mL distilled water,
then they were mixed by shaking. The mixture was then incubated at
50 ◦ C for 20 min and centrifuged at 10,000 rpm for 10 min. The residue
was rinsed with 2 mL distilled water and centrifuged again. The super­
natants after each centrifugation were pooled in a 10 mL centrifuge tube
and diluted with distilled water; 2 mL of the extract was then mixed with
1.5 mL of the DNS solution in a 25 mL test tube, and heated in a boiling
water bath for 5 min. The mixture was immediately cooled under

70
Overground fresh mass (g/100 plants)

B
A 60
ab
a

50 ab b b
bc
40 bc
bc

30 c c
Above-groundparts

20

10
C
14
a ab
b b
12 b
cd c
10 c cd
Plant height (cm)

d
8

2
a D
Surface 1.5
b b
ab
Stem diameter (mm)

bc bc bc c
bc
1.2 c

0.9

0.6

0.3

0.0
Z-10-Y BL TH H-2 H-1 TMH R-1 R-3 LL-01 LL-03
Quinoa sprouts varieties

Fig. 1. Quinoa sprouts and harvest method (after 25 days germination) (A). The above-ground fresh mass (B), plant height (C), and stem diameters (D) of different
quinoa sprouts varieties. Plant height and stem diameters were means ± standard deviations of 15 measurements. The yield was means ± standard deviations of 3
measurements. The similar superscripts indicated not significantly different from each other (p < 0.05).

2
L. Le et al.
running water and its absorbance was measured at 540 nm. The content
of reducing sugar was calculated according to a standard curve devel­
oped with glucose. Fat was determined according to standard AOAC
methods 960.39 (AOAC, 2005). The contents of reducing sugars and fat
are expressed as percentage of sample on a DW basis.
2.4. Determination of amino acid
Amino acid contents of quinoa sprouts were analyzed by amino acid
analyzer with cation-exchange chromatography–ninhydrin postcolumn
derivatization after submitting samples to acid hydrolysis (HCl 6 mol/L,
110 ◦ C, 24 h) (Fountoulakis & Lahm, 1998). Briefly, 200 mg of pul­
verized quinoa sprout was acid-hydrolyzed in a closed-vessel digestion
system under anaerobic conditions (achieved by adding 1-2 drops of
phenol and exposing it to nitrogen for 15 min). After cooling, it was
filtered and diluted to 50 mL with ultrapure water. Take 1 mL of the
diluted solution into the test tube, and then evaporate to dryness in a
60 ◦ C water bath. The residue was dissolved with 2 mL sample diluent
and passed through a 0.22 μm microporous filter membrane for testing.
The atomic absorption spectra of all proteogenic amino acids except for
tryptophan, asparagine, glutamine and cysteine were determined.
2.5. Measurement of ash and mineral contents
Ash contents was determined according to standard AOAC methods
923.03, (AOAC, 2005). Mineral composition of quinoa sprout powder
was determined by atomic absorption spectrophotometry (AAS)
(Bhinder, Kaur, Singh, Yadav, & Singh, 2020). Dried, pulverized sample
(2 g) was weighed into a porcelain crucible and carbonized in an in­
duction furnace until it no longer emitted smoke. Then it was put in a
muffle furnace at 550 ◦ C to remove organic matter, and 10 mL of 1%
nitric acid was added to dissolve the ash. After washing with ultrapure
water and filtering, the mixture was diluted to 50 mL. The contents of
calcium (Ca), potassium (K), magnesium (Mg) and copper (Cu) were
analyzed in an atomic absorption spectrophotometer calibrated with
standard mineral solutions.
2.6. Measurement of vitamin C
Vitamin C was extracted from 2.0 g of fresh quinoa sprouts by
grinding them with 5 mL oxalic acid–EDTA and then bringing the so­
lution to 20 mL with oxalic acid–EDTA. The sample solution was
allowed to stand for 30 min in the dark and then centrifuged at 4000 rpm
for 10 min at 4 ◦ C. Vitamin C was measured in the supernatant by
absorbance at 760 nm according to the method of Bajaj and Kaur (1981).
The standard curve was established using ascorbic acid. Vitamin C
content was expressed in milligrams per 100 g FW.
2.7. Determination of TF, TP and TS
Total flavonoids content (TF) was measured by the aluminum chlo­
ride colorimetric method described by Roberts and Moreau (2016).
Approximately 0.05 g of sample was added to 1.6 mL of 50% methanol
and then sonicated for 1 h. Then it was shaken for 30 min in a ther­
mostatic water bath oscillator (210 rpm, 65 ◦ C), centrifuged at 10,000
rpm for 10 min, and incubated at 4 ◦ C for 48 h. Extraction solution (2
mL) and 1 mL of 5% NaNO2 were added to the test tube. After shaking at
37 ◦ C for 6 min, 1 mL 10% AlCl3 was added. After shaking again for
another 6 min, 5 mL of 1 M NaOH was added. The absorbance was
measured at 510 nm after the third round of shaking. Catechol was used
as the standard (0–1 mg/mL). TF content was expressed as grams cate­
chol equivalents per 100 g.
The determination of total phenols content (TP) was based on the
Folin–Ciocalteu colorimetry method described by Singleton, Orthofer,
and Lamuela-Raventós (1999). The standard curve was established with
gallic acid, and the TP content was expressed as milligrams gallic acid
3
Food Chemistry 357 (2021) 129752
equivalents (GAE) per 100 g.
Total saponins (TS) were quantified by colorimetric method ac­
cording to Gilramirez et al. (2018) with some modifications. Accurately
weighed 0.1000 g of sample was dissolved in 4 mL 75% ethanol, placed
in an ultrasonic instrument at 30 ◦ C for 30 min, then centrifuged at 8000
rpm for 5 min. The supernatant was brought to 5 mL with anhydrous
methanol. A 0.1 mL aliquot of sample solution, 0.1 mL vanillin reagent
(5 g/100 mL glacial acetic acid) and 0.4 mL perchloric acid were placed
in a test tube to start the colorimetric reaction. The reaction was heated
in a 70 ◦ C water bath for 15 min. Then the test tubes were vigorously
stirred and cooled on ice for 3 min. Glacial acetic acid (2.5 mL) was
added and the tubes were left in the ice water bath for 10 min. Absor­
bance was measured with a UV–visible spectrophotometer at 550 nm. TS
content was determined using an appropriate calibration curve prepared
with oleanolic acid and expressed as milligrams oleanolic acid equiva­
lents (OAE) per 100 g.
2.8. Determination of carotenoid, lycopene and chlorophyll contents
Carotenoid and chlorophyll contents were determined by the method
of Martins, Barros, Carvalho, and Ferreira (2011). Dried sample (0.15 g)
was mixed with 4 mL acetone and 6 mL hexane. The mixture was vor­
texed for 1 min, and centrifuged for 10 min at 10, 000 rpm. The
absorbance of the supernatant was measured at 453 nm, 505 nm, 645
nm, and 663 nm. The contents of carotenoids and chlorophylls were
calculated according to the following equations: β-carotene (mg/100
mL) = 0.216 × A663 − 1.220 × A645 − 0.304 × A505 + 0.452 × A453;
lycopene (mg/100 mL) = − 0.0458 × A663 + 0.204 × A645 − 0.304 ×
A505 + 0.452 × A453; chlorophyll a (mg/100 mL) = 0.999 × A663 −
0.0989 × A645; chlorophyll b (mg/100 mL) = − 0.328 × A663 + 1.77 ×
A645. The final result was expressed in milligrams per 100 g DW.
2.9. Statistical analysis
The values of all indexes determined in the experiment were recor­
ded in triplicate and were expressed as mean ± standard deviation. The
relationship among the various parameters was established by principal
component analysis (PCA) (Wang et al., 2021). Analysis of variance
(ANOVA) was also performed. The PCA was applied to detect the rela­
tionship between quality characteristics and different varieties of quinoa
sprouts. The input array for the analysis consisted of fat, ash, reducing
sugar, vitamin C, TF, TP, TS, β-carotene, lycopene, chlorophyll a, chlo­
rophyll b, Ca, K, Mg, Cu, amino acids, plant height, stem diameter,
moisture content, biomass and sprout varieties. Factors with eigenvalues
higher than 1.0 were selected to obtain the optimal number of principal
components (PCs). SPSS Software (version 26.0, IBM SPSS Statistics)
was used to apply these statistical tools.
3. Results and discussion
3.1. Biomass and morphological traits of quinoa sprouts
We found significant differences in FW (Fig. 1B), plant height
(Fig. 1C) and stem diameter (Fig. 1D) among the ten quinoa sprout
varieties. Biomass production is one of the most important reference to
edible sprouts. The fresh weight in present research varied from 25.23 to
52.10 g/100 plants, with var. LL-03 being the heaviest, followed by LL-
01 (47.83 g/100 plants) and Z-10-Y (43.40 g/100 plants). The average
biomass for the ten quinoa sprout varieties was much greater than that
of broccoli sprouts (Lv et al., 2020), showing great yield potential of
quinoa sprouts as edible sprouts in consideration of its fresh weight
biomass production. Plant height and stem diameter are important in­
dicators for measuring biomass. Var. Z-10-Y (11.66 cm) was tallest,
significantly so as compared to the other varieties of quinoa sprouts
except for var. LL-03 (11.23 cm). The average stem diameter for all
varieties was 1.15 mm; var. LL-01 had the thickest stem, and var. H-2 the
L. Le et al.
thinnest. In present research, fresh weight was impacted by varieties,
which can be attributed to variations in plant height and stem diameter
in different varieties (Hussain, Muscolo, Ahmed, Asghar, & Al-Dakheel,
2020).
3.2. Diversity of nutrient composition
3.2.1. Water content
Moisture content is an important index for vegetable quality, which
has a certain impact on the taste and flavor of vegetables. There was no
significant difference in moisture content among the different quinoa
sprout varieties (Fig. 2A). For most vegetables, the moisture content is
85-97%. The moisture contents of purslane, okra, green chilies, field
beans and green beans were 85.7%, 89.6%, 85.7%, 86.2% and 87.5%,
respectively (Kandlakunta, Rajendran, & Thingnganing, 2008). In cu­
cumber (96.4%), bottle gourd (96.3%), cabbage (91.8%) and cauli­
flower (90.8%), moisture contents were also very high (Kandlakunta
et al., 2008). The high moisture content in quinoa sprouts enables them
with fresh and crisp taste and active metabolism as other edible
vegetables.
3.2.2. Sugars
The content of reducing sugars varied significantly (P < 0.05) in the
different quinoa sprout varieties (Fig. 2B). It ranged between 1.84%
(var. LL-01) and 3.96% (var. LL-03). The difference of reducing sugars
content in the ten quinoa sprout varieties may be due to the different
genotypes of each variety, which affects photosynthesis, resulting in the
accumulation of photosynthetic products, i.e., different reducing sugars
contents. Monosaccharides are easily digested and absorbed by the
human body, and therefore have high nutritional value. Moreover, the
reducing sugars glucose and fructose can also provide energy for seed­
ling growth (Cai, You, Ryall, Li, & Wang, 2011). At 25 days after sowing,
the reducing sugar content of quinoa sprouts was higher than that of
Chinese cabbage (0.40%; Cai et al., 2011).
3.2.3. Fat
The fat content of different quinoa sprout varieties ranged from 2.72
to 4.58%. With the highest for var. Z-10-Y and the lowest for var. H-1
(Fig. 2C). There were significant differences among the varieties. The fat
content in var. Z-10-Y was highest, and it was lowest in var. H-1
(Fig. 2A). As an energy source for the human body, fat in the diet can
provide essential fatty acids and promote the absorption of fat-soluble
vitamins (Roberts & Moreau, 2016). Angeli et al. (2020) reported the
fat content of quinoa seeds to be between 2% and 9.5%, higher than that
for corn and other grains, but less than for soybean. Roberts and Moreau
(2016) found a fat content of 0.4% in spinach, while fat contents of
Vernonia amygdalina, Solanum africana, Amaranthus hybridus and Telfaria
occidentalis were 9.2%, 10.0%, 9.1% and 9.4%, respectively.
3.2.4. Amino acid composition
The amino acid composition of the 10 quinoa sprout varieties is
shown in Table 1. The quinoa sprouts contained all of the essential
amino acids, namely isoleucine, leucine, methionine, lysine, tryptophan,
valine, threonine, phenylalanine and histidine, which have an important
impact on the nutritional quality of plant-based products. Among these
amino acids, quinoa sprouts were characterized by high content of
leucine (4.371 g/100 g), followed by valine (2.918 g/100 g), lysine
(2.905 g/100 g), and phenylalanine (2.702 g/100 g). Yoon, Kuppusamy,
Kim, Kim, and Lee (2016) reported that valine (49.5 mg/100 g DW) is
the most abundant essential amino acid in four spinach cultivars. The
average content of isoleucine in 10 quinoa sprout varieties was 2.401 g/
100 g, highest in var. H-1 and lowest in var. LL-03. Quinoa sprout va­
rieties had appreciable quantities of histidine and threonine. Methionine
is a sulfur-containing amino acid, which is essential for cell metabolism
and protein uptake. The average methionine content of 10 quinoa sprout
varieties was 0.435 g/100 g. The highest value was for var. LL-01, and
4
Food Chemistry 357 (2021) 129752
the significantly lowest value was for var. TH. Essential amino acid
content varied by varieties, with particular varieties having higher
content on average. Arginine and glycine are nonessential amino acids
that play an important role in human health. They are involved in the
synthesis of some important nitrogen compounds that help to maintain
physiological activity (Bhinder et al., 2020). Arginine can also promote
wound healing, reduce the risk of tumor development and improve
cardiovascular, digestive and immune functions (Yoon et al., 2016). The
highest arginine and glycine contents were found for var. LL-03 and the
lowest for var. H-1. Yoon et al. (2016) reported arginine and glycine
contents in spinach of 69.0 and 11.2 mg/100 g (on a DW basis),
respectively.
Among acidic amino acids, the contents of aspartic and glutamic acid
ranged from 4.125 to 5.035 g/100 g and 5.295 to 6.291 g/100 g,
respectively, with the highest contents of both in var. BL, and the lowest
in var. TH and LL-03, respectively. Previous studies have reported
contents of the acidic amino acids aspartic and glutamic acid in field-
grown spinach of 95.3 and 404.7 mg/100 g in the first harvest,
respectively, whereas those in greenhouse-grown spinach were 173.1
and 198.7 mg/100 g, respectively (Yoon et al., 2017). Among neutral
amino acids, threonine was the most abundant, highest in var. H-1 and
lowest in var. TH. In addition to methionine, histidine was a limiting
amino acid. These results provide the first report of methionine as a
limiting amino acid in quinoa sprouts.
The protein quality and composition of the proportion of essential
amino acids is very important to the nutritional quality of quinoa
sprouts. Quinoa is generally regarded as having high lysine, leucine and
methionine amino acid content, especially in comparison to cereal crops
(Angeli et al., 2020). In this study, the mean values of leucine, valine,
lysine and phenylalanine in quinoa sprouts were the highest. For the
non-essential amino acids, glutamate, aspartate and arginine were the
most abundant. Total essential amino acid content ranged from 17.353
to 21.302 g/100 g, which was higher than that of spinach reported by
Yoon et al. (2016). The difference of amino acid content and composi­
tion in quinoa sprouts may be caused by varieties, environment, man­
agement and their interactions (Hussain et al., 2020). Data from this
experiment show that quinoa sprouts can be important sources of di­
etary protein. The species can supply higher concentrations of essential
amino acids than spinach (Yoon et al., 2016) and has a better amino acid
profile than most other leafy vegetables.
3.2.5. Ash content and minerals
The ash contains a varied profile of minerals, including a high con­
tent of calcium (Ca), copper (Cu), iron (Fe), magnesium (Mg) and zinc
(Zn), which are very important for maintaining overall physical and
mental well-being, and are necessary for organisms’ normal functioning
(Angeli et al., 2020). The ash content in the different quinoa sprout
varieties varied between 11.40 and 12.93% (Fig. 2D). Significant dif­
ferences in ash content were found among varieties, with the highest for
var. LL-01 and the lowest for var. Z-10-Y. The determination range of ash
content of 10 quinoa sprouts was consistent with the results of Ajayi,
Oderinde, Kajogbola, and Uponi (2006), who reported that the ash
content of leafy vegetables to range from 0.6% to 34%. The difference of
ash content in quinoa sprouts may due to variations in different
varieties.
The mineral composition of the 10 quinoa sprout varieties is given in
Table 2. The concentration of elements in the quinoa sprouts varied with
species. Mean Ca content was 14.41 mg/100 g. The lowest value was for
var. TH, and the significantly highest value was for var. R-3. Ca is
essential for many physiological functions, such as cell-membrane
integrity, endocrine regulation and bone metabolism (Okeke, Capa­
lino, Matarese, & Mullin, 2015). The mean value of Ca found in quinoa
sprouts was higher than that found in mung bean sprouts (13.0 mg/100
g; Ganesan & Xu, 2018), but lower than that found in spinach, Chinese
cabbage and some wild leafy vegetables (Pradhan, Manivannan, &
Tamang, 2015).
L. Le et al. Food Chemistry 357 (2021) 129752

92 4.8

a
A B
a a
91 4.0
a b

Moisture content (%)

a

Reducing sugar (%)

a a a bc bc
90 a 3.2
c
a
a c c c c
89 2.4
d

88 1.6

87 0.8

86 0.0
a
b
C a
D
c ab ab
4 ab ab ab
b b b b
d 12
e
fg f f
g
3 h

Ash (%)
Fat (%)

8
2

4
1

0 0
a a E F
70 ab ab a
b ab ab
b 70

Total Phenolics (mg/g)

b
Vitamin C (mg/100g)

60
bc bc
c c
50 c
cd c 60
cd
d
40 d

30 50

20
40
10

0 30
10 a G H
a a a
Total Flavonoids (mg/g)

ab
8 b bc 1.2

Total Saponins (%)

bc b b bc bc
bc
c
c cd
6
d 0.8
de
de e
4

0.4
2

0 a 0.0
I ab a
J 0.6
b ab
0.28 c
β-Carotene (mg/100g)

0.5

Lycopene (mg/100g)
b
bc bc
d d c
0.21 cd 0.4
e d
f ef d
0.3
0.14 g
h
0.2

0.07
0.1

0.00 0.0
a K L
1.4 ab
b a
Chlorophyll b (mg/100g)
Chlorophyll a (mg/100g)

0.4
1.2 bc
bc bc ab
c c bc b ab
1.0 bc
0.3
c c
0.8 c c

0.6 0.2
d d
0.4
0.1
0.2

0.0 0.0
Z-10-Y BL TH H-2 H-1 TMH R-1 R-3 LL-01LL-03 Z-10-Y BL TH H-2 H-1 TMH R-1 R-3 LL-01LL-03
Quinoa sprouts varieties

Fig. 2. Moisture content (A), reducing sugar (B), fat (C), ash (D), vitamin C (E), total polyphenols (F), total flavonoids (G), total saponins (H), β-carotene (I), lycopene
(J), chlorophyll a (K) and chlorophyll b (L) content of different quinoa sprouts varieties. All data were expressed as the mean ± standard deviation of triplicate
measures. The similar superscripts indicated not significantly different from each other (p < 0.05).

5
L. Le et al. Food Chemistry 357 (2021) 129752

Table 1
Amino acid composition (g/100 g) of powder from different quinoa sprouts varieties.
Amino acids Quinoa sprouts varieties

Z-10-Y BL TH H-2 H-1 TMH R-1 R-3 LL-01 LL-03

AAA Asp 1.899 ± 2.014 ± 1.650 ± 1.740 ± 2.012 ± 1.935 ± 1.772 ± 1.856 ± 1.992 ± 1.682 ±
0.047b 0.012a 0.074d 0.068c 0.054a 0.009ab 0.055c 0.003b 0.071b 0.064 cd
Glu 2.448 ± 2.516 ± 2.163 ± 2.271 ± 2.465 ± 2.483 ± 2.250 ± 2.318 ± 2.385 ± 2.118 ±
0.003ab 0.093a 0.083d 0.002c 0.073ab 0.075ab 0.002 cd 0.051bc 0.080b 0.018d
Total 4.347 4.530 3.813 4.011 4.477 4.418 4.022 4.173 4.307 3.800

BAA His 0.599 ± 0.609 ± 0.548 ± 0.540 ± 0.636 ± 0.652 ± 0.602 ± 0.592 ± 0.556 ± 0.514 ±
0.017b 0.004b 0.025c 0.021 cd 0.010ab 0.011a 0.022b 0.023b 0.005c 0.014d
Lys 1.192 ± 1.273 ± 1.174 ± 1.113 ± 1.217 ± 1.216 ± 1.116 ± 1.121 ± 1.196 ± 0.998 ±
0.034b 0.016a 0.035b 0.039c 0.020b 0.022b 0.038c 0.010c 0.030b 0.013d
Arg 1.153 ± 1.194 ± 1.005 ± 1.046 ± 1.195 ± 1.180 ± 1.069 ± 1.071 ± 1.168 ± 0.958 ±
0.024a 0.040a 0.009c 0.028bc 0.006a 0.037a 0.007b 0.048b 0.046a 0.032c
Total 2.944 3.076 2.727 2.699 3.047 3.050 2.788 2.784 2.920 2.470

HAA Gly 1.139 ± 1.186 ± 0.988 ± 1.041 ± 1.190 ± 1.164 ± 1.103 ± 1.104 ± 1.066 ± 0.970 ±
0.024b 0.011a 0.015d 0.028c 0.006a 0.037ab 0.011b 0.017b 0.006c 0.032d
Ala 0.793 ± 0.820 ± 0.670 ± 0.717 ± 0.814 ± 0.782 ± 0.730 ± 0.748 ± 0.725 ± 0.670 ±
0.023a 0.044a 0.033c 0.027b 0.013a 0.012ab 0.026b 0.020b 0.006b 0.026c
Val 1.207 ± 1.280 ± 1.085 ± 1.099 ± 1.256 ± 1.228 ± 1.171 ± 1.129 ± 1.157 ± 1.060 ±
0.026bc 0.043a 0.010d 0.029d 0.006ab 0.038b 0.004c 0.014 cd 0.011c 0.035d
Met 0.186 ± 0.170 ± 0.128 ± 0.185 ± 0.195 ± 0.180 ± 0.130 ± 0.182 ± 0.205 ± 0.178 ±
0.007c 0.005e 0.001f 0.006 cd 0.002b 0.004 cd 0.001f 0.003 cd 0.001a 0.007d
Ile 1.000 ± 0.987 ± 0.899 ± 0.933 ± 1.052 ± 0.981 ± 0.957 ± 0.957 ± 0.969 ± 0.866 ±
0.021b 0.012bc 0.027d 0.025 cd 0.005a 0.031bc 0.002c 0.035c 0.037bc 0.029d
Leu 1.867 ± 1.831 ± 1.536 ± 1.706 ± 1.958 ± 1.771 ± 1.786 ± 1.717 ± 1.741 ± 1.568 ±
0.053b 0.018bc 0.023e 0.021d 0.032a 0.028c 0.017c 0.026d 0.010 cd 0.043e
Phe 1.088 ± 1.107 ± 1.017 ± 0.977 ± 1.232 ± 1.206 ± 1.065 ± 1.074 ± 1.092 ± 0.949 ±
0.031b 0.014b 0.009c 0.026 cd 0.020a 0.019a 0.013b 0.010b 0.055b 0.012d
Pro 0.934 ± 1.174 ± 1.015 ± 1.138 ± 1.178 ± 0.989 ± 1.024 ± 1.176 ± 1.259 ± 0.980 ±
0.017d 0.053b 0.001c 0.018b 0.019b 0.026c 0.005c 0.037b 0.034a 0.029 cd
Total 8.215 8.555 7.338 7.796 8.875 8.302 7.967 8.087 8.213 7.242

NAA Thr 0.932 ± 00970 ± 0.768 ± 0.818 ± 0.974 ± 0.921 ± 0.897 ± 0.899 ± 0.907 ± 0.808 ±
0.008ab 0.024a 0.023d 0.025 cd 0.018a 0.041b 0.001b 0.033b 0.035b 0.013d
Ser 0.897 ± 0.903 ± 0.740 ± 0.786 ± 0.910 ± 0.895 ± 0.826 ± 0.850 ± 0.911 ± 0.774 ±
0.029a 0.003a 0.021d 0.004c 0.028a 0.006a 0.038b 0.033b 0.030a 0.007 cd
Tyr 0.705 ± 0.756 ± 0.626 ± 0.632 ± 0.836 ± 0.769 ± 0.743 ± 0.710 ± 0.810 ± 0.664 ±
0.020b 0.002b 0.008d 0.001d 0.014a 0.012b 0.026b 0.019c 0.007a 0.036c
Total 2.534 2.629 2.134 2.236 2.720 2.585 2.466 2.459 2.627 2.245

All data were expressed as the mean ± standard deviation of triplicate measures. Values in one row followed by the similar superscripts were not differ significantly (p
< 0.05). AAA, Acidic amino acids; BAA, Basic amino acids; HAA, Hydrophobic amino acids; NAA, Neutral amino acids; Asp, Aspartic acid; Glu, Glutamic acid; His,
Histidine; Lys, Lysine; Arg, Arginine; Gly, Glycine; Ala, Alanine; Val, Valine; Met, Methionine; Ile, Isoleucine; Leu, Leucine; Phe, Phenylalanine; Pro, Proline; Thr,
Threonine; Ser, Serine; Tyr, Tyrosine.

The average K content for the 10 quinoa sprout varieties was 493.81
mg/100 g. Varieties TH and R-1 showed significantly different lowest
and highest levels. K is an essential nutrient for acid and electrolyte
balance, maintaining the body’s total fluid volume and normal cell
functioning (Aburto et al., 2013). Increasing K intake can help prevent
and control hypertension and stroke (Aburto et al., 2013). Pradhan et al.
(2015) reported higher K values in the wild leafy vegetable Chenopodium
album (848.30 mg/100 g) and Urtica dioica (917.20 mg/100 g). Spinach
(Roberts & Moreau, 2016) and mung bean sprouts (Ganesan & Xu, 2018)
have lower K contents.
Mg content varied significantly among the different quinoa sprout
varieties (P < 0.05). The var. TH having the lowest and var. LL-03 the
highest Mg contents. Mg is required for many biochemical reactions and
physiological processes in the body, such as bone metabolism, energy
production, inflammation control and glucose metabolism (Okeke et al.,
2015). Quinoa sprouts had more Mg than common wild leafy vegetables
(Amaranthus viridis, Chenopodium album and Urtica dioica) and cultivated
species such as mung bean sprouts and Chinese cabbage (Pradhan et al.,
2015), suggesting quinoa sprouts could be a valuable source of Mg
among the culinary sprouts.
Mean content of Cu was only 0.16 mg/100 g, with var. TH and R-1
showing the significantly lowest content. Cu has an important role in cell
metabolism as both pro- and antioxidant. As an important trace element,
Cu plays a central role in the strength and integrity of the heart and
blood vessels (Mohammadifard et al., 2019). Table 2 shows that quinoa
sprouts had a lower concentration of Cu compared to the other minerals.
Similar experimental findings of lower Cu content (0.16 mg/100 g) in
mung bean sprouts as compared to the other minerals (Ganesan & Xu,
2018). In spinach, Cu was at the lowest level among minerals (Roberts &
Moreau, 2016).
3.2.6. Vitamin
Among the 10 quinoa sprout varieties studied, vitamin C levels
varied from 36.63 (var. H-2) to 69.48 mg/100 g FW (var. TMH)
(Fig. 2E). Vitamin C is an important nutrient in vegetables with strong
antioxidant activity. Vitamin C cannot be synthesized in animals,
including humans; it must be acquired from the diet (Wei et al., 2019).
Vitamin C and other antioxidant micronutrients in fresh vegetables can
make an important contribution to promoting health. In addition,
vitamin C cooperates with vitamin E to regenerate or restore its own
antioxidant properties (Wei et al., 2019). The mean vitamin C value in
the quinoa sprouts (51.64 mg/100 g FW) was higher than that in both
conventionally (35.43 mg/100 g FW) and organically (48.61 mg/100 g
FW) grown spinach (Koh, Charoenprasert, & Mitchell, 2012). Rickman,
Barrett, and Bruhn (2007) reported vitamin C contents in vegetables, for
instance broccoli (112.0 mg/100 g FW), corn (4.2 mg/100 g FW), carrot
(4.1 mg/100 g FW), green peas (40.0 mg/100 g FW), spinach (28.1 mg/
100 g FW), green beans (16.3 mg/100 g FW) and beet (14.8 mg/100 g
FW). These results present the quinoa sprouts is a good source for
vitamin C.

6
L. Le et al. Food Chemistry 357 (2021) 129752

Table 2 0.57 mg/g and 0.90 mg/g, respectively. Moreover, TF content in spinach
Mineral composition of different quinoa sprouts varieties. leaves ranges from 1.0 to 1.2 mg/g, and the main secondary metabolite
Variety Mineral (mg 100 g-1) is methoxylated flavonoids (Cho, Howard, Prior, & Morelock, 2008).
Overall, the lowest content of TF were observed in var. H-1 among all
Calcium Potassium Magnesium Copper
varieties, which was much higher than that in spinach leaves (Cho et al.,
Z-10-Y 14.41 ± 498.17 ± 89.01 ± 2.98f 0.17 ± 2008), indicating that quinoa sprouts was a rich pool of TF with high
0.35e 18.35ab 0.01ab
BL 18.77 ± 477.88 ± 125.15 ± 0.17 ±
antioxidant activity.
0.03c 18.27ab 1.09e 0.00a In the present work, the TS content of quinoa sprouts (Fig. 2H) varied
TH 2.12 ± 467.22 ± 68.94 ± 1.71 0.15 ± between 0.91 (var. H-2) and 1.18% (var. LL-03). All of the saponins
0.08 g 11.58b h
0.01c found in quinoa are triterpenoid glycosides, which are secondary me­
H-2 10.38 ± 502.77 ± 73.98 ± 0.70 0.16 ±
tabolites with many biological activities, such as antibacterial, anti­
0.40f 26.82ab g
0.01b
H-1 10.89 ± 503.50 ± 86.51 ± 1.29f 0.17 ± cancer, anti-inflammatory, antidiabetic and hypocholesterolemic
0.04f 25.16ab 0.01ab (Gilramirez et al., 2018). Studies have shown that saponin contents in
TMH 10.31 ± 478.13 ± 122.96 ± 0.17 ± the stems and leaves of quinoa are significantly lower than in quinoa
055f 16.79ab 0.67e 0.00ab seeds (Lim et al., 2020). The average value of TS in quinoa sprouts was
R-1 20.26 ± 525.21 ± 131.56 0.15 ±
1.07%, which was lower than that in quinoa seeds (1.26%), quinoa bran
±
1.01b 14.12a 0.42d 0.00c
R-3 21.67 ± 515.17 ± 179.27 ± 0.17 ± (8.34%), quinoa pericarp (1.60%), quinoa stem (3.67%) and quinoa root
0.76a 14.26ab 2.20b 0.00ab (13.39%), but was higher than for quinoa leaves (0.97%) (Lim et al.,
LL-01 21.43 ± 479.79 ± 147.69 ± 0.17 ± 2020). Saponins interfere with the palatability and digestibility of food
0.58a 14.20ab 1.33c 0.00ab
(Gilramirez et al., 2018), making the relatively low saponin content of
LL-03 17.39 ± 490.23 ± 219.34 ± 0.17 ±
0.14d 14.85ab 6.81a 0.00ab quinoa sprouts a seemingly favorable property.
Spinach 73 206 84 0.01
Chinese Cabbage 289.0 219.9 14.6 / 3.3.2. β-Carotene, lycopene and chlorophylls
Mungbean sprout 13.0 149.0 21.0 0.16 The β-carotene content of quinoa sprouts ranged from 12.42 (var. BL)
Amaranthus 24.70 382.00 0.48 1.11
virdis
to 32.71 mg/100 g (var. TMH) (Fig. 2I). β-Carotene, the most common
Chenopodium 155.75 848.30 0.31 1.22 and stable natural pigment in nature, is a fat-soluble compound that is a
album source of vitamins (Martins et al., 2011). β-Carotene is abundant in
Stinging nettle 113.20 917.20 0.22 0.67 green leafy vegetables. It is an antioxidant with detoxification effects
All data were expressed as the mean ± standard deviation of triplicate measures. and an indispensable nutrient for maintaining human health (Hallmann,
Values in one column followed by the similar superscripts were not significantly 2012). In leafy vegetables, β-carotene is actually the only source of
different from each other (p < 0.05). Ca, Calcium; K, Potassium; Mg, Magne­ vitamin A, and vitamin A deficiency is still prevalent in many southeast
sium; Cu, copper. Asian countries (Kandlakunta et al., 2008). The concentrations of
β-carotene obtained in quinoa sprouts was not only higher than, that in
3.3. Bioactive components of quinoa sprouts standard and small berry varieties of tomato under conventional culti­
vation conditions(Hallmann, 2012), but also higher than that in some
The focus of this study was to determine the potential of quinoa common Indian vegetables, such as purslane (1.70 mg/100 g), yellow
sprouts as a new edible vegetable by evaluating biomass yield and the pumpkin (1.18 mg/100 g), green chilies (1.02 mg/100 g), cabbage (26
nutrient compositions for the purpose of body health, as a novel quinoa µg/100 g) and cauliflower (2.0 µg/100 g); it was not detected in cu­
whole-use strategy. In addition, the potential of growing quinoa sprouts cumber (Kandlakunta et al., 2008). These results indicated that quinoa
for their functional characteristics was also investigated. sprouts are a rich source of β-carotene.
The content of lycopene in the different quinoa sprout varieties
3.3.1. TP, TF and TS ranged from 27.75 (var. H-2) to 51.52 mg/100 g (var. LL-01) (Fig. 2J). A
The TP content of quinoa sprouts varied between 58.91 (var. H-1) natural carotenoid, lycopene is one of the strongest antioxidants found
and 71.01 mg/g (var. R-1) (Fig. 2F). Phenolics are products of plant in plants, far more effective at scavenging free radicals than other ca­
secondary metabolism and have potential antioxidant effects; they are rotenoids or vitamin E (Arain et al., 2018). Studies have shown that
believed to reduce the risk of chronic diseases (Fu et al., 2016). The ingesting large amounts of lycopene-rich foods can reduce the risk of
results of this study confirmed that quinoa sprouts are a very good developing prostate cancer, whereas intake of other vegetables and fruit
source of phenolics, with higher content than sweet potato leaf (35.40 have no such effect (Martins et al., 2011). Up to now, rare literature has
mg/g DW) (Fu et al., 2016), 6 times higher than cherry-type tomatoes reported the lycopene contents in quinoa sprouts. Hallmann (2012) re­
(9.28 mg/g) and standard-type tomatoes (9.94 mg/g) (Hallmann, 2012), ported much higher lycopene contents of 211.70 and 117.66 mg/100 g
but lower than three varieties of raw spinach, bayam merah (107 mg/g), in standard and cherry tomatoes, respectively. Lycopene was the main
bayam putih (101 mg/g) and bayam panjang (85.6 mg/g) (Amin, Nor­ carotenoid in tomatoes, accounting for more than 85% of all carotenoids
azaidah, & Hainida, 2006). Different varieties and agronomic condi­ (Hallmann, 2012).
tions, tissue type (white, green or red) and inner vs. outer leaves can all The highest concentrations of chlorophyll a and chlorophyll b in
lead to differences in phenolic compound content (Hallmann, 2012). But quinoa sprouts were in var. LL-01, 131.52 and 37.69 mg/100 g,
genotype may be the main reason in this study. respectively (Fig. 2K and 2L). Var. H-2 had the lowest chlorophyll a
The highest TF content was found in var. TMH (9.05 ± 0.81 mg/g content (77.60 mg/100 g) and var. TH had the lowest chlorophyll b
DW) and was significantly lower in var. H-1 (3.29 ± 0.62 mg/g DW) content (15.27 mg/100 g). Lower levels of chlorophylls (19.56 to 63.85
(Fig. 2G). Flavonoids belong to the polyphenols, which have positive mg/100 g FW) were found in variable microgreens, such as amaranth,
health effects in clinical practice, including immunology, cardiovascular green peas, beetroot, radish and kale (Aneta, Paulina, Karolina, & Igor,
disease, neurology, urology and gastroenterology (Hoensch & Oertel, 2020). Chlorophyll is the main pigment in green vegetables, and the
2015). In addition, flavonoids possess antibacterial, antiviral and anti­ color is first attribute to consumers’ choice (Aneta et al., 2020). Chlo­
cancer properties, as well as anti-inflammatory (Hoensch & Oertel, rophyll and its derivatives not only play an important role in plant
2015) and antioxidant (Roberts & Moreau, 2016) activities. According growth, but they are also correlated with specific health benefits when
to Hallmann (2012), the TF content of standard and cherry tomatoes was they make up part of the human diet (Inanc, 2011). Chlorophyll has
many functions, such as hematopoiesis, vitamin supply, detoxification,

7
L. Le et al. Food Chemistry 357 (2021) 129752

disease resistance, and antioxidant and anti-inflammatory activities Table 3

(Inanc, 2011). In addition, chlorophyll as a health food ingredient can Eigen vectors and correlation coefficients for each nutritional trait with respect
affect consumers’ dietary preferences. The differences in chlorophyll to the principal components.
pigment content among different quinoa sprout varieties could be Parameters PC1 PC2 PC3 PC4 PC5 PC6
associated with their growth rate and the origin of both chloroplasts and Fat 0.001 0.269 0.130 0.236 0.748 0.342
their components. Ash − 0.168 − 0.231 0.510 0.075 ¡0.785 − 0.031
Reducing − 0.537 0.477 − 0.370 0.330 − 0.013 0.330
3.4. PCa sugar
TF − 0.376 0.885 − 0.030 − 0.036 0.138 0.018
TP − 0.700 0.605 0.284 − 0.047 0.178 0.040
PCA (Fig. 3A and B and Table 3) showed six PCs with eigenvalues TS − 0.093 0.771 − 0.228 0.265 − 0.286 0.420
higher than 1.00, which explained 94.3% of the variability within the Vc − 0.073 0.863 0.088 − 0.307 0.233 − 0.135
observations. PC1 and PC2 accounted for 22.6% and 19.8% of the total β-carotene 0.040 0.879 0.343 − 0.153 − 0.076 − 0.054
variability, respectively. The parameters with the greatest contribution Lycopene 0.063 0.358 0.897 0.093 − 0.076 0.038
Chlorophyll a 0.050 0.155 0.970 0.136 0.083 0.040
to PC1 were acidic amino acids (AAA, 0.978), basic amino acids (BAA,
−
Chlorophyll b 0.059 − 0.575 0.744 0.273 − 0.005 0.152
0.964), hydrophobic amino acid (HAA, 0.955) and neutral amino acids Ca 0.134 − 0.307 0.593 0.588 0.311 − 0.178
(NAA, 0.925). TF (0.885), TP (0.605), TS (0.771), vitamin C (0.863) and K − 0.068 − 0.356 0.349 − 0.036 0.808 0.140
β-carotene (0.879) contributed to PC2. PC3, PC4, PC5 and PC6 Mg − 0.289 0.099 0.478 0.797 0.038 − 0.145
Cu 0.539 0.104 − 0.091 0.738 0.093 0.051
accounted for 17.8%, 13.0%, 12.5% and 8.7% of the total variability, − −
AAA 0.978 − 0.076 − 0.053 0.136 0.027 − 0.113
respectively. A loading plot explains the relationships among the vari­ BAA 0.964 0.084 − 0.053 − 0.156 − 0.037 − 0.125
ables; for instance, Cu was positively correlated with AAA, BAA, HAA HAA 0.955 − 0.212 0.065 − 0.021 0.103 − 0.078
and NAA. Similarly, FW was strongly correlated to lycopene, chlorophyll NAA 0.925 − 0.097 0.293 0.180 0.028 − 0.008
a and chlorophyll b contents, plant height, stem diameter, and ash, K, Ca Overground 0.018 − 0.368 0.252 0.804 − 0.208 0.311
Weight
and Mg contents. In addition, TP was strongly correlated to β-carotene,
Overground − 0.092 0.002 0.246 0.224 0.237 0.874
fat, TS, TF, vitamin C, moisture content and reducing sugar content. Height
The score plot (Fig. 3B) divided the varieties into four groups. Var. H- Stem 0.029 − 0.054 0.374 0.287 ¡0.781 0.211
1 and BL in the lower right quadrant of PC1 had high free amino acid Diameter
Moisture − 0.415 − 0.046 − 0.214 − 0.382 − 0.033 0.724
content (AAA, BAA, HAA and NAA). Varieties in the upper right quad­
content
rant, e.g., var. LL-01, were characterized by high mineral content,
particular Mg. At the same time, var. LL-01 was characterized by high Boldface factor loadings were considered highly weighed. PC1, PC2, PC3, PC4,
fresh weight, lycopene content, stem diameter and chlorophyll content. PC5, PC6 were first-six Principal components. TF, total flavonoids content; TP,
The negative side of PC1 included var. LL-03 and R-1. Furthermore, var. total phenols content; TS, total saponins content; Vc, vitamin C; Ca, Calcium; K,
Potassium; Mg, Magnesium; Cu, copper; AAA, Acidic amino acids; BAA, Basic
Z-10-Y, TMH and H-2 in the upper and lower left quadrants had the
amino acids; HAA, Hydrophobic amino acids; NAA, Neutral amino acids.
lowest nutritional quality. The PCA carried out in the present study may
help for understanding the combinations and interactions among several
nutritional and functional compounds in different varieties, and actually 4. Conclusions
provide the basis for reasonable selection of the corresponding high
content sprouts varieties due to the specific purpose. For example, to The study highlights the variations of the nutrient compositions and
produce quinoa sprouts with high biomass, rich contents of phyto­ functional contents across 10 quinoa sprout varieties. Quinoa sprouts
chemicals and minerals (var. LL-01), as well as high amino acid content were found to be rich source of reducing sugars, water content, potas­
(var. H-1 and BL) might be the primary target in meeting consumer sium (K), magnesium (Mg) and vitamin C. Quinoa sprouts also possess
demand for health-promoting products. abundant amino acids, including all of the essential ones, with especially
high contents of leucine. These emphasize that quinoa sprouts can be

Score Plot
2
B
LL-03

LL-01
1
R-1
R-3
Second Component

Z-10-Y
TH TMH H-1

BL
-1

H-2

-2
-2 -1 0 1 2
First Component

Fig. 3. PLS-DA loading plot (A) and score plot (B) of quinoa sprouts samples from different varieties. TF, total flavonoids content; TP, total phenols content; TS, total
saponins; Vc, Vitamin C; Ca, Calcium; K, Potassium; Mg, Magnesium; Cu, copper; AAA, Acidic amino acids; BAA, Basic amino acids; HAA, Hydrophobic amino acid;
NAA, Neutral amino acids.

8
L. Le et al.
one of nutrient-dense sprouts as other edible sprouts or leafy vegetables.
The present study also shows that quinoa sprouts are of high functional
values, containing a wide range of health-promoting phytochemicals,
such as β-carotene, lycopene, chlorophylls, total phenolics, and total
flavonoids, which proves that quinoa sprouts can be an important source
of natural antioxidants. Moreover, we visualize interrelationships of the
investigated morphological, chemical and phytochemical parameters of
quinoa sprouts using PCA, which would be a useful guidence for con­
sumers in their dietary choices. It would also assist promoting quinoa
sprouts, as novel nutrient-dense sprouts in the market to gain increasing
popularity. This study also provides information on different quinoa
sprouts varieties, which can be cultivated as edible sprouts with
immense nutritional and health potential.
CRediT authorship contribution statement
Liqing Le: Investigation, Formal analysis, Writing - original draft,
Visualization. Xuxiao Gong: Investigation, Writing - review & editing.
Qi An: Investigation, Writing - review & editing. Dabing Xiang: Re­
sources, Writing - review & editing. Liang Zou: Resources. Lianxin
Peng: Resources, Funding acquisition. Xiaoyong Wu: Resources.
Maoling Tan: Resources. Zhongli Nie: Supervision. Qi Wu: Resources.
Gang Zhao: Resources, Funding acquisition. Yan Wan: Conceptuali­
zation, Writing - review & editing, Supervision.
Declaration of Competing Interest
The authors declare that they have no known competing financial
interests or personal relationships that could have appeared to influence
the work reported in this paper.
Acknowledgments
This work was supported by Science & Technology Department of
Sichuan Province, Grant/Award Number: 2019YFS0526; Ministry of
Science and Technology of People’s Republic of China, Grant/Award
Number: 2018YFC1602101; Special Fund for Agro-Scientific Research
in the Public Interest, Grant/Award Number: 201303069.
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