Preliminary Evaluation of the By-products of Quinoa as Alternative Source of Usable Biomass

Quinoa is a little-known andean pseudocereal of ancestral use, easily cultivated by small, medium and large producers, thus being a cost-effective alternative and obtaining biomass at low cost from its by-products; among these are the stems, the brushwood, the perigonium and the leaves. Moreover, they are raw materials easy to acquire and even without economic value in the national market; however, they offer an alternative for agro-industrial use as a source of biomass. In this sense, the goal of the present investigation was the realization of the preliminary evaluation of the characteristics of the by-products of the quinoa production chain to obtain usable biomass. The by-products of the quinoa: stem, leaf, husk or perigonium and bushes were collected in two farms located in the city of Duitama, in the department of Boyacá, Colombia. To obtain relevant information, 1500 g of the product was gather up within 100 days after sowing; stems, straw and husk 6 months after sowing. The byproducts were stored in hermetic bag until the analysis was carried out; these processes were developed in the laboratory of Natural Ingredients of the Agricultural University Foundation of Colombia - UNIAGRARIA. To carry out the physicochemical analyzes (humidity, ash, fat and crude fiber), as well as for each by-product (leaves, stem and perigonium), samples of approximately 200 g were taken from each raw material. The results of the physicochemical characterization were analyzed by means of descriptive statistics through the determination of the average and standard deviation. In the meantime, the possible differences between the physicochemical results were analyzed by means of a Variance Analysis with the Statgraphics 5.1 PLUS statistical package with a confidence level of 95 %. From the physicochemical characterization, it was inferred that the leaf has a higher percentage of moisture and fat, 15.06 % and 13.70 % respectively, which is contrary to the amount of dry mass available, presenting in this vegetable organ the lowest content; the husk has a percentage of 13.21 % in ash and the brushwood contains 18.61% fiber, this shows the highest bromatological value in each by-product used.