Nutritional and Functional Properties of Quinoa ( Chenopodium quinoa Willd.) Chimborazo Ecotype: Insights into Chemical Composition

Paola Arguello-Hernández, Iván Samaniego, Alex Leguizamo, María Josefa Bernalte-García and María Concepción Ayuso-Yuste ()
Additional contact information
Paola Arguello-Hernández: Faculty of Animal Sciences, Grupo de Investigación y Desarrollo en Agroindustria (IDEA), Escuela Superior Politécnica de Chimborazo (ESPOCH), Panamericana Sur Km 1.5, Riobamba 060155, Ecuador
Iván Samaniego: Department of Nutrition and Quality, National Institute of Agricultural Research (INIAP), Panamericana Sur Km. 1, Mejía 170516, Ecuador
Alex Leguizamo: European Committee for Training and Agriculture (Comité Europeo Para la Formación y la Agricultura, CEFA), Guayas 22-46 y Venezuela, Lago Agrio 210105, Ecuador
María Josefa Bernalte-García: Agricultural Engineering School, Universidad de Extremadura, Avda. Adolfo Suárez s/n, 06007 Badajoz, Spain
María Concepción Ayuso-Yuste: Agricultural Engineering School, Universidad de Extremadura, Avda. Adolfo Suárez s/n, 06007 Badajoz, Spain

Agriculture, 2024, vol. 14, issue 3, 1-17

Abstract: Quinoa is known for its high nutritional value and adaptability; however, there is a lack of data about the chemical composition of quinoa produced in Ecuador, especially the Chimborazo ecotype. Our research aims to evaluate the nutritional components of Chimborazo quinoa. This knowledge (chemical composition) can help to improve cultivation and farmers’ understanding. Samples were collected from 49 plots at four altitude ranges (3000–3200; 3201–3300; 3301–3400; 3401–3533) m.a.s.l. Each sample of 2 kg quinoa was cleaned, dried (32 °C/15 h), and stored at −20 °C before analyzing water activity, proximate composition, mineral content, antioxidant activity, and functional compounds. The data were analyzed using ANOVA and mean comparison, Pearson correlation, and principal component analysis. The Chimborazo ecotype shows protein content comparable to or exceeding other global quinoa cultivars. Statistical analysis revealed that altitude had a minimal influence on quinoa’s chemical composition, resulting in overlapping altitude-based clusters. Complex relationships between quinoa variables were identified, which varied with altitude. These findings suggest that cultivation of high-quality quinoa across a range of altitudes is feasible without compromising its intrinsic quality. Moreover, the extensive and diverse results from our study provide a solid foundation for further plant breeding and the development of specialized quinoa varieties.

Keywords: quinoa ecotype Chimborazo; chemical composition; altitude (search for similar items in EconPapers)
JEL-codes: Q1 Q10 Q11 Q12 Q13 Q14 Q15 Q16 Q17 Q18 (search for similar items in EconPapers)
Date: 2024
References: View references in EconPapers View complete reference list from CitEc
Citations:

Downloads: (external link)
https://www.mdpi.com/2077-0472/14/3/396/pdf (application/pdf)
https://www.mdpi.com/2077-0472/14/3/396/ (text/html)

Related works:
This item may be available elsewhere in EconPapers: Search for items with the same title.

Export reference: BibTeX RIS (EndNote, ProCite, RefMan) HTML/Text

Persistent link: https://EconPapers.repec.org/RePEc:gam:jagris:v:14:y:2024:i:3:p:396-:d:1349320

Access Statistics for this article

Agriculture is currently edited by Ms. Leda Xuan

More articles in Agriculture from MDPI
Bibliographic data for series maintained by MDPI Indexing Manager ().