Scientists Successfully Decode the Genome of Quinoa (bbc.com)

Gr8Apes writes: Scientists have successfully decoded the genome of quinoa, a hugely popular "super-food" because it is well balanced and gluten-free. They have pinpointed one of the genes that they believe control the production of saponins (bitter toxic compounds that protect the plant from predators) which can facilitate the breeding of plants without saponins, resulting in sweeter seeds without having to process them. The scientists also believe that the genetic understanding now gained will allow them to breed shorter, stockier plants that don't fall over as easily, and that these benefits could be gained without the use of genetic modification. Furthermore, the researchers believe the genetic code will rapidly lead to more productive varieties that will push down costs. "We need the price of quinoa to go down by a factor of five," said project leader Professor Mark Tester, from King Abdullah University of Science and Technology. "If we get to a similar price to wheat it can be used in processing and in bread making and in many other foods and products. It has the chance to truly add to current world food production." The study has been published in the journal Nature.

Comments

Re:Somewhat selfishly, I look forward to this.

[tpgp]

Quinoa is convenient? How is it more convenient than rice?

I'm the opposite of you, I find Quinoa inconvenient (only because of the price), but is is really tasty. I substitute out about 1/3 of my rice with red/black Quinoa & add 1/3 extra water to the rice cooker & get a lovely rice with different coloured seeds scattered through it, giving it a nuttiness, crunch & depth of flavour you don't get with plain rice.

Re:Saponins

[myid]

The BBC article isn't clear about it, but the bitter saponins are in tiny, thin shells that are around the individual quinoa seeds. The bad-tasting saponins protect the quinoa from birds.

You can get rid of the coating, but it's messy - the shells go all over the place, and they're hard to clean up. (Maybe I do it wrong.) After you remove the coating, you cook the quinoa, and it tastes good.

You can buy quinoa whose saponins have already been removed (ready to cook), but a box of that quinoa is more expensive.

Re:What is up with this anti-gluten bullshit?

[crmarvin42]

There is also a lot of evidence that the so-called "Gluten Sensitive" are not actually sensitive to gluten at all. Instead they are probably FODMAP insensitive, and most of the "gluten free" products on the market are also low in FODMAP's.

That means a Gluten Free diet improves their symptoms, not because of the gluten, but because of a correlated change in FODMAPS. This is why most self-diagnosed people with a gluten insensitivity also claim to have problems with dairy products which are completely gluten free, but are rich in FODMAPs. Unfortunately, when you try to explain this to someone with a self-diagnosis, they seem to take the information as an attempt to call them stupid or crazy. It's not that their symptoms are imaginary, nor that the relief they get from a gluten free diet is imagined, but simply that they've misattributed cause and effect due to the correlation between FODMAP and Gluten in many foods.

I don't know much about quinoa on this regard, but if it is also high in FODMAP's despite being gluten free, then it won't help these people all that much.

https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/p...