Effect of germination on the nutritional profile of white and red quinoa seed flours

GUARDIANELLI, LUCIANO MARTÍN; SALINAS, MARÍA VICTORIA; PUPPO, MARÍA CECILIA

Congreso; IV Conferencia Internacional del Grupo IA Valse Food CYTED Y VII Simposio CHIA LINK; 2022

Quinoa (Chenopodium quinoa) is an Andean crop, which has excellent nutritional attributes: high protein content with a very good balance of essential amino acids, large amountsof unsaturated fatty acids, considerable amounts of calcium, iron, zinc and magnesium.Controlled germination is currently used in order to obtain grains and seeds with betternutritional characteristics. As a result of germination, substantial changes are produced inthe biochemical composition of the grains: amylases remove starch reserves; proteins arehydrolyzed to oligopeptides and free amino acids, and the amino acid composition alsochanges. Triglycerides are hydrolyzed and the proportion of saturated/unsaturated fattyacids is modified; among other processes. Therefore, the objective of this work was to evaluate the changes in chemical components due to germination (0, 18, 24 and 48 h at 20ºC)of quinoa seeds from two varieties: red (RQ) and white (WQ). Centesimal composition,fatty acid profile (GC), minerals (ICP), aminoacids (HPLC) and structure of proteins (FTIR,SDS-PAGE) were studied. The results obtained suggest that the white quinoa flour germinated for 48 h is an interesting ingredient for using in wheat breads since it has more proteincontent than the other germinated ones and more lipids and dietary fiber than thenon-germinated one. In the case of red quinoa, flour from seeds germinated for 24 h wouldbe appropriate since it presented higher lipid content with a better lipid profile.