Nutritional compositions in young leaves and stem from quinoa (Chenopodium quinoa Willd.) grown in Korea

Abstract

Quinoa (Chenopodium quinoa Willd.) leaves and stem grown in Korea were analyzed to determine their nutritional compositions. Quinoa leaves exhibited significantly higher levels of crude protein, crude lipid, crude ash, carbohydrate, and dietary fiber than those of the quinoa stem. Fructose and glucose were only detected in stem, and they contents were 44.25 mg% and 107.62 mg%, respectively. Acetic acid was the most plentiful organic acid in leaves and stem of quinoa, with their higher levels determined in leaves (428.40 mg%). The major minerals of quinoa were potassium and calcium, especially potassium was verified as having the highest level in leaves (750.65 mg%) and stem (869.15 mg%) of quinoa. In addition, linolenic acid (C18:3, n-3) contained as highest level was detected only in leaves (176.09 mg%) but no identified in stem. It was found that quinoa leaves contained many kinds of vitamin such as vitamin B1 (293.35 μg/100 g), B2 (256.54 μg/100 g), C (2.02 mg/100 g), and E (2.25 mg/100 g). These findings suggest that quinoa leaves and stem are an excellent source for developing of salads and various processed products, further this study presents the application prospect of quinoa to various food industry fields.