Abstract
Quinoa (Chenopodium quinoa Willd.) is a nutrient-rich grain native to South America and eaten worldwide as a healthy food, sometimes even referred to as a ”superfood”. Like quinoa grains, quinoa greens (green leaves, sprouts, and microgreens) are also rich in nutrients and have health promoting properties such as being antimicrobial, anticancer, antidiabetic, antioxidant, antiobesity, and cardio-beneficial. Quinoa greens are gluten-free and provide an excellent source of protein, amino acids, essential minerals, and omega-3 fatty acids. Quinoa greens represent a promising value-added vegetable that could resolve malnutrition problems and contribute to food and nutritional security. The greens can be grown year-round (in the field, high tunnel, and greenhouse) and have short growth durations. In addition, quinoa is salt-, drought-, and cold-tolerant and requires little fertilizer and water to grow. Nevertheless, consumption of quinoa greens as leafy vegetables is uncommon. To date, only a few researchers have investigated the nutritional properties, phytochemical composition, and human health benefits of quinoa greens. We undertook a comprehensive review of the literature on quinoa greens to explore their nutritional and functional significance to human health and to bring awareness to their use in human diets.
Highlights
Quinoa (Chenopodium quinoa Willd.) is a summer annual dicotyledonous herbaceous crop of the Amaranthaceae family
The Total Phenolic Content (TPC) was measured in quinoa leaves and sprouts, mostly using the Folin–Ciocalteu assay, and data are expressed as mg gallic acid equivalent (GAE) per 100 g of sample dry weight basis (Table 4)
Quinoa greens may be combined as functional food ingredients in other gluten-free food products
Summary
Quinoa (Chenopodium quinoa Willd.) is a summer annual dicotyledonous herbaceous crop of the Amaranthaceae family. It was domesticated first in the Andean countries of South America about 7000 years ago. Quinoa grains are the main edible part, and gluten-free grains contain high quantities of protein, essential amino acids, and essential minerals and vitamins. Because of these nutritional properties and health benefits, quinoa is considered a novel healthy food, occasionally referred to as a ”superfood”. The Incas consumed quinoa grains and leaves in their diet to balance the lack of animal proteins [5].
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