Galili, Liel

Seeds with colored testa (seed coat) contain high concentrations of polyphenolic compounds that exhibit high levels of antioxidant activity. Common processing procedures, such as cooking and baking, decrease the levels of these bioactive compounds and consequently, overall antioxidant activity. Here, the effects of baking and cooking processes were examined on total phenolic content (TPC), total flavonoid content (TFC) and ferric-reducing ability of plasma antioxidant activity (FRAP AA) of red and yellow quinoa seeds. Our results indicate that red quinoa seed contains significantly higher levels of TPC, TFC and FRAP AA than yellow quinoa seeds. In addition, cooked and baked quinoa seeds retain most of their TPC, TFC and FRAP AA in the final product. Thus, red quinoa seeds processed by these two methods might be considered a functional food, in addition to its traditional role of providing dietary proteins. Due to their high antioxidant activity, red quinoa seeds might also contribute significantly to the management and/or prevention of degenerative diseases associated with free radical damage.