How Does Mechanical Pearling Affect Quinoa Nutrients and Saponin Contents?

Area of Science:

• Agricultural Science
• Food Science
• Biotechnology

Background:

• Agriculture faces challenges like climate change, drought, and salinity, necessitating crop diversification.
• Quinoa is a high-value, stress-tolerant crop suitable for improving land productivity and farmer income.
• Quinoa implementation in Morocco lacks comprehensive quality control, particularly for seed processing.

Purpose of the Study:

• To assess pearling as an effective method for saponin removal in quinoa seeds.
• To determine the impact of varying pearling durations on nutrient and saponin content across different quinoa varieties.
• To establish optimal pearling parameters for quality control in Moroccan quinoa production.

Main Methods:

• Evaluation of five pearling durations (0, 2, 4, 6, 8 minutes) on three quinoa varieties (Puno, Titicaca, ICBA-Q5).
• Analysis of total saponin content before and after pearling.
• Assessment of changes in proximate composition (protein, fat, moisture) and micronutrient profiles (Zn, Cu, Mn, Fe, B).

Main Results:

• A two-minute pearling duration significantly reduced total saponins below the 0.12% Codex Standard threshold for all tested varieties.
• Pearling had minimal impact on macronutrient and micronutrient content in the processed seeds.
• Protein and fat content varied among varieties, with Puno showing the highest seed content and ICBA-Q5 the lowest.

Conclusions:

• Pearling for two minutes is sufficient to reduce saponins to acceptable levels while preserving quinoa's nutritional integrity.
• This pearling duration offers a viable solution for quality control in quinoa processing.
• Optimized pearling contributes to the successful valorization of quinoa in Morocco, supporting agricultural adaptation and farmer livelihoods.