Abstract
Quinoa (Chenopodium quinoa Willd) stands out because of its high nutritional value and bioactive compounds, which can benefit human health. Heat treatments can improve the content of these compounds; however, few reports have investigated the behavior of phenolic compounds in quinoa when subjected to in vitro gastrointestinal digestion. This work aimed to evaluate the effect of heat treatments on: (1) Total phenols and flavonoids, individual phenolics, and antioxidant activity of quinoa flour subjected to two different heat processes (boiling and microwaving); (2) Bioaccessibility of total phenols, flavonoids, individual phenolics, and the intestinal recovery of antioxidant activity of cookies made using heat-treated quinoa flours and (3) Consumer opinions of cookies made using heat-treated quinoa flours. The results demonstrated that cookies formulated with microwave-treated quinoa flour had greater bioaccessibility of phenols (647%), flavonoids (98%), ferulic acid (144%), rutin (65%), quercetin (85%), and kaempferol (97%) than cookies made with raw or boiled quinoa. Cookies made with heat-treated quinoa showed better consumer acceptability than those made with uncooked quinoa. Therefore, the microwave treatment of quinoa may be a viable alternative for producing healthier foods.
Keywords:
functional food; bioactive compounds; pseudocereals; improved flours