Nutritional implication of quinoa intake

Quinoa (Chenopodium quinoa Willd.) is an annual herbaceous plant species of the Chenopodiaceae family. It can adapt to different types of soil and climatic conditions. Young leaves, besides grains, are used as human food. Quinoa was a major food crop of the pre-Columbian cultures in Latin America for more than 4000 years. It is a pseudocereal crop, a dicotyledon plant looks like a grain, but not a member of the grass family. Quinoa grains are naturally gluten-free, low in sodium and rich in fiber and protein. Quinoa proteins contain all nine essential amino acids making it a complete-protein source, therefore they can replace animal proteins in the human diet. Moreover, quinoa has vitamins, essential fatty acids (linoleic and linolenic acid), saponins, phytosterols, phytoecdysteroids, peptides, flavonoids, phenolic acids and betaines. Several different beneficial effects are ascribed to quinoa, among these: immunoadjuvant, prebiotic, hypocholesterolemic, antioxidant, anti-inflammatory effect and cancer reduction activity.