A new biomarker for quinoa intake (1044.25)

Abstract

Quinoa (Chenopodium quinoa) is a pseudocereal grain consumed widely in the Andean regions of South America, and now receiving greater attention in many countries as a gluten‐free grain with a balanced amino acid profile. To date there has been little work on quinoa composition, clinical effects, or association of quinoa intake with health outcomes. We identified a range of alkylresorcinols in quinoa using LC‐MS/MS and GC‐MS/MS, including odd numbered homologues C17:0 ‐ C25:0 identified in whole grain wheat, rye and barley. In addition, we have identified homologues C18:0, C22:0, and C24:0, to our knowledge the first time these have been reported in nature. As these even numbered homologues may be unique to quinoa they may serve as a biomarker of quinoa intake. To test this hypothesis, we measured alkylresorcinols in plasma before and after intake of quinoa and were able to measure alkylresorcinol homologues in plasma.Alkylresorcinols, in food previously only thought to be present in wheat, rye and barley, are also present in quinoa, and unique alkylresorcinol homologues may serve as specific biomarkers of this pseudocereal.