Quinoa (Chenopodium quinoa Willd.) is a pseudocereal from South Americas that has received increased interest around the world because it is a good source of different nutrients and rich in saponins. However, the saponins in quinoa seeds planted in China were poorly known. We obtained 4 quinoa saponin fractions, Q30, Q50, Q70, and Q90, and 11 saponins were determined by HPLC-MS. Q50 possessed 8 individual saponins and had the highest content of saponins. We further evaluated the anti-inflammatory activity on RAW 264.7 murine macrophage cells of the 4 fractions. The 4 fractions not only dose-dependently decreased the production of inflammatory mediators NO but also inhibited the release of inflammatory cytokines including tumor necrosis factor-α and interleukin-6 in lipopolysaccharide-induced RAW264.7 cells. These results suggest that quinoa saponins may be used as functional food components for prevention and treatment of inflammation.
Practical application: Our findings demonstrate that saponins from the quinoa have the potential to anti-inflammation by suppressing the release of inflammatory cytokines.
Keywords: LPS; anti-inflammation; quinoa; saponins.
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