Ecdysteroids from Chenopodium quinoa Willd., an ancient Andean crop of high nutritional value

Chenopodium quinoa Willd. (=quinoa) is a crop cultivated since ancient times by the Incas, which has a high nutritional value. Quinoa belongs to Chenopodiaceae, a family containing many ecdysteroid-containing species, including spinach.Quinoa seeds have been investigated for their ecdysteroid content. Besides large amounts of 20-hydroxyecdysone, they contain lower amounts of makisterone A, 24-epi-makisterone A, 24(28)-dehydromakisterone A and polypodine B, together with a wide array of minor ecdysteroids, among which three were isolated as new natural compounds, i.e. 24,25-dehydroinokosterone, 25,27-dehydroinokosterone and 5β-hydroxy-24(28)-dehydromakisterone A. Ecdysteroids are concentrated in the bran, and their amount varies with the quinoa variety used. Most of the 20-hydroxyecdysone is recovered undegraded within the seeds even after 20 min boiling, and is thus susceptible to evoke significant (beneficial) pharmacological effects on humans who eat quinoa regularly. The same applies to most quinoa-based foods, which retain most of their original ecdysteroid content.