Nutritional Effects of Adding Quinoa to Bread: A Systematic Review

Context: 

Considering the importance of bread as a staple food in many countries around the world, including Iran, This study aimed to assess the nutritional values (i.e., protein content, fat content, carbohydrates, vitamins, minerals, and antioxidant activity) of quinoa-wheat bread compared to simple wheat bread.

Evidence Acquisition: 

A search was conducted in electronic databases, including PubMed, Scopus, and Web of Science, as well as Google Scholar search engine. After screening the title and full-text of the articles, data were extracted by two independent researchers; a third researcher interfered in case of disagreement. Keywords, including “Chenopodium quinoa”, “Quinoa”, and “bread”, were obtained from the MeSh database and the manuscripts of related articles. All papers written in English language, which were published before March 2022, were selected for this review.

Among 159 initially extracted articles, 38 were selected by screening the titles and removing duplicates and irrelevant papers. Eleven articles were finally included in this review. Overall, the results showed significantly higher protein, fat, and fiber content in quinoa-wheat bread compared to simple wheat bread.

Based on the results, the addition of quinoa flour could promote the health benefits of bread by increasing the protein, lipid, fiber, and micronutrient contents. It is suggested to optimize the nutritional value of the Iranian’s staple food by adding quinoa flour to wheat bread.