Functional composition, physiological effect and agronomy of future food quinoa (Chenopodium quinoa Willd.): A review

Abstract

The South American grain quinoa (Chenopodium quinoa Willd.), which is full of nutrients, is used worldwide as a nutritious food and is occasionally referred to as a "superfood." In addition to being high in nutrients, quinoa also offers health-promoting qualities such as antidiabetic, antioxidant, antiobesity, and cardio-beneficial. Quinoa is a great source of protein, amino acids, important minerals, and omega-3 fatty acids and is gluten-free. The crop's nutritional qualities are thought to be a way to combat malnutrition on a worldwide scale. Quinoa is also acknowledged as a crop with significant value in terms of resistance to abiotic stressors, and there is considerable interest in integrating it into subsistence agricultural production systems globally. This review intends to draw the attention of researchers to quinoa nutritional, antinutritional and physicochemical components and their health benefits, along with its biological and agronomical aspects, because of its potential use in food and other industries. Six databases were searched for works from 1943 to 2022. Overall, numerous research and pieces of evidence have pointed to the useful qualities of quinoa, with the majority of them concentrating on its health benefits. Quinoa consumption carries a minimal and manageable risk in relation to the possible benefits. As a result, it can be said that quinoa has a lot of potentials to be marketed as a nutritious food. More research is required to establish the effectiveness of quinoa consumption for obtaining certain health impacts.