ABSTRACT
Quinoa (Chenopodium quinoa Willd.) is known as superfood. It is an annual herbaceous crop from the family Chenopodiaceae, the same as of spinach and beets. More content of fibers in quinoa can enhance digestibility by assisting the absorption of the other nutritional components present in quinoa in large intestine. In quinoa seeds, the major antinutritional factors are saponins, phytic acid, tannins, trypsin inhibitor, nitrates, and oxalates. Some functional properties of quinoa have been described such as oil and water absorption, foaming stability, emulsion stability and capacity, viscosity, gelation, water holding capacity, water imbibing capacity and others. Grains must undergo some industrial processing for de-hulling or removal of the outer layer of grain to facilitate the removal of antinutrients present in the outer layer of quinoa seeds and to improve its sensory quality. The application of heat to quinoa seeds resulted in reduced antinutritional factors.
