Cell wall phenolics and polysaccharides in different tissues of quinoa (Chenopodium quinoa Willd)

Quinoa (Chenopodium quinoa Willd) is an Andean pseudo-cereal, of the Chenopodiaceae family, which is currendy being studied for introduction in Northern Europe as an alternative to industrial crops. The aim of this work was to verify existence in quinoa of the distinctive cell wall features identified in other Chenopodiaceae, ie presence of pectin-bound ferulic acid and dehydrodiferulic acids. Alcohol-insoluble solids (AIS) were prepared from leaves, stems and roots of mature quinoa plants, representing 0.10, 0.20 and 0.47g g(-1) respectively of the fresh weight. Ferulic acid and dehydrodiferulic acid derivatives were present in all the organs, with the highest concentrations in the leaves with 2.1 and 0.5 mg g(-1) AIS respectively. The ratio of dehydrodiferulic acid to ferulic acid was highest in the roots. Pectins extracted by hot HCl from AIS of leaves were rich in ferulic acid (3.4 mg g(-1)), but also highly acetylated (DAc 20), and rich in rhamnose, two characteristics encountered in other Chenopodiaceae.