PHYTOCHEMICAL PROFILE OF CHIA & QUINOA - SIGNIFICANCE OF INCORPORATION IN SNACKS

Quinoa and Chia are pseudo cereals, fast emerging as ’nutraceuticals’. They are widely known as “super foods” for their high nutritional content. Many developing countries face challenges of malnutrition, undernourishment and micronutrient deficiencies .In addition, many people are allergic to wheat and wheat-based products. To address these nutritional problems in consideration, while improving the physical well-being of consumers and promoting a healthy society an effort was made to develop value added products. In the present study, the proximate and phytochemical analyses were carried out followed by formulation of nutritious sweet and salty cookies with mixtures of Quinoa and Chia. These were compared with similar wheat-based products available in market. Cost constraints may lower acceptability among all strata. Therefore, production of these pseudo cereals in our country on a large scale will benefit farmers too.