Nutritional and Functional New Perspectives and Potential Health Benefits of Quinoa and Chia Seeds

Abstract

Quinoa (Chenopodium quinoa Willd) and chia (Salvia hispanica) are essential traditional crops with excellent nutritional properties. Quinoa is known for its high and good quality protein content and nine essential amino acids vital for an individual’s development and growth, whereas chia seeds contain high dietary fiber content, calories, lipids, minerals (calcium, magnesium, iron, phosphorus, and zinc), and vitamins (A and B complex). Chia seeds are also known for their presence of a high amount of omega-3 fatty acids. Both quinoa and chia seeds are gluten-free and provide medicinal properties due to bioactive compounds, which help combat various chronic diseases such as diabetes, obesity, cardiovascular diseases, and metabolic diseases such as cancer. Quinoa seeds possess phenolic compounds, particularly kaempferol, which can help prevent cancer. Many food products can be developed by fortifying quinoa and chia seeds in different concentrations to enhance their nutritional profile, such as extruded snacks, meat products, etc. Furthermore, it highlights the value-added products that can be developed by including quinoa and chia seeds, alone and in combination. This review focused on the recent development in quinoa and chia seeds nutritional, bioactive properties, and processing for potential human health and therapeutic applications.

Potential hepato-protective effect of Salvia hispanica (chia) and Chenopodium quinoa (quinoa) in diabetic male albino rats

“…Since obesity and diabetes prevalence are increasing, several studies on chia and quinoa were done to find their effect on body weight, glucose, and lipid profile [28]. Although it was insignificant when comparing each group with the positive control group Figure 2, there was an increase in the mean body weight in all treated groups with chia and quinoa which was in line with [8].…”

Evaluation of Salvia hispanica as a Therapeutic Agent against Sodium Arsenic-Induced Testicular Toxicity in a Male Rats Model

“…The role of vitamin E is essential in protecting cellular membranes against oxidative damage. It actively contributes to the prevention of lipid peroxide formation and the adverse effects associated with oxidation processes [67]. The seeds powder of Salvia hispanica contain significant amounts of essential minerals, such as selenium and zinc, which function as cofactors for antioxidant enzymes in the human body.…”

Distinction of chia varieties in vivo and in vitro based on the flow cytometry and rosmarinic acid production

“…The special health properties of chia seeds are determined by the presence of omega-3 fatty acids. Moreover, chia seeds owe their bioactive potential to the presence of antioxidant phenolic compounds (Oteri et al 2022 ; Agarwal et al 2023 ; Ferreira et al 2023 ). Polyphenols, mainly cinnamic acid derivatives and flavonoids, are responsible for the antioxidant activity of chia seeds (Knez Hrnčič et al 2019 ; Aja and Haros 2022 ; Ghafoor et al 2022 ; Agarwal et al 2023 ).…”