Antioxidant potential of Chenopodium quinoa as a nutraceutical

Chenopodium quinoa Willd. (a pseudocereal belongs to Amaranthaceae family) has attracted increasing attention worldwide over two last decades. It has been considered as a functional food. Besides, to be a complete nutrient, quinoa consumption could help to decrease the risk of several diseases such as diabetes, cardiovascular diseases, obesity, neurodegenerative disease, and cancers. Certain beneficial effects of quinoa extracts (seeds and leaves) are related to antioxidant activities which are raised from its phenolic compounds, vitamins, polysaccharides, and even minerals. Some studies indicated that the antioxidative power of quinoa extracts had synergistic effects with its anticancer properties. Several varieties of Chenopodium quinoa demonstrated different antioxidant activities which may result from distinct genotypes, environmental factors and also various antioxidant assays. In this review, we aim to focus on the antioxidant compounds of quinoa plant.