Quinoa seeds leach phytoecdysteroids and other compounds with anti-diabetic properties

Abstract

Quinoa (Chenopodium quinoa Willd.) contains high levels of biologically active phytoecdysteroids, which have been implicated in plant defense from insects, and have shown a range of beneficial pharmacological effects in mammals. We demonstrated that the most prevalent phytoecdysteroid, 20-hydroxyecdysone (20HE), was secreted (leached) from intact quinoa seeds into water during the initial stages of seed germination. Leaching efficiency was optimized by ethanol concentration (70% ethanol), temperature (80°C), time (4 h), and solvent ratio (5 ml/g seed). When compared to extraction of macerated seeds, the leaching procedure released essentially all the 20HE available in the seeds (491 μg/g seed). The optimized quinoa leachate (QL), containing 0.86% 20HE, 1.00% total phytoecdysteroids, 2.59% flavonoid glycosides, 11.9% oil, and 20.4% protein, significantly lowered fasting blood glucose in obese, hyperglycemic mice. Leaching effectively releases and concentrates bioactive phytochemicals from quinoa seeds, providing an efficient means to produce a food-grade mixture that may be useful for anti-diabetic applications.

Quinoa (Chenopodium quinoa Willd), from Nutritional Value to Potential Health Benefits: An Integrative Review

“…J Nutr Food Sci 6: 497. doi:10.4172/2155-9600.1000497 properties and help in controlling blood glucose levels. Graf and others tested an extract from quinoa seeds in obese mice and observed that fasting blood glucose levels were significantly lower [63].…”

Quinoa (Chenopodium quinoa Willd.) versus soja (Glycine max [L.] Merr.) en la nutrición humana: revisión sobre las características agroecológicas, de composición y tecnológicas

“…Finalmente, un campo que aún está por explorar en la industria alimentaria es la potenciación de compuestos bioactivos como los fitoecdisteroides con promisorios beneficios para diabéticos 116 , las isoflavonas asociadas a la reducción de síntomas de osteoporosis 98 y los glucósidos flavonoides por sus interesantes aplicaciones como antioxidantes. Su identificación, incorporación como ingredientes y conservación tras procesos tecnológicos típicos, especialmente en el caso de la quinoa, continúan siendo objetos de investigación para el desarrollo de alimentos funcionales.…”

Plant ecdysteroids: plant sterols with intriguing distributions, biological effects and relations to plant hormones

“…Furthermore, experiments with PE extracts containing 20E from the monocotyledon Asparagus dumosus (used in traditional Asian medicine, mainly as a diuretic and antiseptic agent) indicate that 20E appears to have antibacterial and antifungal properties (Ahmad et al 1996). In addition, seeds of quinoa (Chenopodium quinoa Willd., Amaranthaceae), a functional food and nutraceutical, have very high contents of PEs (mainly 20E), 4-12 times more than spinach (Kumpun et al 2011), and compounds secreted by intact quinoa seeds into water during initial stages of germination reportedly have anti-diabetic properties, as they can significantly lower fasting blood glucose in obese, hyperglycemic mice (Graf et al 2014). Other therapeutic properties in mammals-including anabolic, performance-enhancing, anti-osteoporotic and wound healing effects-have also been described by various authors (e.g., Slama and Lafont 1995;Kapur et al 2010;Seidlova-Wuttke et al 2010;Syrov and Khushbaktova 1996;Lafont and Dinan 2003).…”