Quinoa
Quinoa (Chenopodium quinoa Willd) is a pseudocereal of the Chenopodiaceae family, native to the Andean region of South America. It is a functionally diploid grain (2n = 36), one of 200 species in the genus [1]. Other related grain chenopods are to be foun
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3.1 Introduction Quinoa (Chenopodium quinoa Willd) is a pseudocereal of the Chenopodiaceae family, native to the Andean region of South America. It is a functionally diploid grain (2n = 36), one of 200 species in the genus [1]. Other related grain chenopods are to be found in Mexico, around Lake Titicaca in Bolivia and Peru, and in the Himalayan region [2]. Archeological evidence indicates that quinoa was being cultivated in Peru some 7000 years ago and in Chile some 5000 years ago [3]. Quinoa was an important component in the diet of the Inca civilization. Armies, then as now, 'marched on their stomachs' and apparently the Inca armies on marches were sustained by a mixture of quinoa and fat known as 'war balls' [4]. In the Quenchua language of the Incas, quinoa is called chisiya mama meaning'mother grain' [5]. The word quinoa is Spanish. The Inca name points to quinoa's excellent all-round nutritional value. It has a higher protein content than most cereals and a much better balance of amino acids. However, on the negative side, quinoa grain contains saponins, plant glycosides. Saponins produce a foam when added to water with agitation, the name saponin being derived from the Latin for soap. The saponins in quinoa can impart a bitter taste to quinoa foods and have important implications with regard to nutrition and grain processing. In fact it has been suggested that the presence of saponins is one of the reasons that quinoa has not attained the world-wide status of several other South American food crops, such as phaseolus beans, maize and potatoes [2]. Quinoa is uniquely weH adapted to cultivation at high altitude, 2000 - 4000 m [6]. It is frost-resistant and can be grown in areas oflow rainfall, 300-400 mrn. As a result of these important characteristics and its excellent nutritional value, quinoa production is increasing in South America and it is starting to be cultivated around the world [7,8].
3.2
Production
Quinoa is cultivated in South America at altitude from 5 oN to 30 oS and at sea level between 36 and 40 0 S [9]. According to FAO data [7] the major producing countries are Bolivia, Peru and Ecuador. Production also occurs in Brazil, Chile, and Columbia [10]. Outside South America, quinoa is produced in Colorado in P. S. Belton et al., Pseudocereals and Less Common Cereals © Springer-Verlag Berlin Heidelberg 2002
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3 Quinoa
Fig. 3.1. Quinoa under cultivation in Canada. Courtesy of the Northern Quinoa Corporation, Kamsack, Canada
the USA [8]. It has also been grown experimentally in Canada, Finland and the UK [2,8]. Figure 3.1 shows quinoa under cultivation in Canada. FAO data [7] show that world production (data only from Bolivia, Peru and Ecuador) has increased steadily since 1970 (Table 3.1), more than doubling from less than 19,000 tons to an average of more than 45,000 tons in the period 1995-1999. However, this increase has been based on an increase in cultivation area, from 30,000 to 66,000 ha. Overall, the yield of quinoa shows little increase and is still less than 700 kg ha-1 due mainl
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