Chenopodium quinoa

Quinua/Cañihua

Annual herb 1-2 m tall that matures in five to six months. Important pseudocereals; plants that are not grasses but produce small white, red or black seeds mainly used in making bread and similar food products. Grown in the Andes at altitudes where maize will not grow. The chemical composition of the two species is approximately the same.

In poultry-feeding trials, chicks fed a ration containing cooked quinua made equal gains to those receiving maize and skim milk, whereas rations containing uncooked quinua depressed the growth rate in both chickens and swine owing to the presence of bitter-tasting saponins in the seed coat. Saponins can be removed from the grain by repeated thorough washing, a process that can be shortened by adding lime to the water. Cooking also helps remove both the bitter taste and the toxic effects.

Sajama, a Bolivian variety, is practically free of saponins. The leaves and stalks can be fed to ruminants, and the chaff and gleanings from threshing are generally fed to pigs.

As % of dry matter

DM

CP

CF

Ash

EE

NFE

Ca

P

Ref

Grain

90.6

16.9

3.9

2.8

8.8

67.6

115