Pseudocereals for modern diets: Multifunctional grains with superior bioactive properties, nutraceutical potential, and diverse industrial applications
Abstract
Pseudocereals, such as quinoa, buckwheat, and amaranth, have emerged as promising alternatives to traditional cereals due to their superior nutritional composition, abundance of bioactive compounds, and multifunctional properties. This review synthesizes the current knowledge of bioactive compounds present in these multifunctional grains, highlighting their superior antioxidant, anti-inflammatory, anticancer, hypocholesterolemic, and antidiabetic properties. It discusses the major bioactive compounds, including polyphenols, flavonoids, saponins, fagopyritols, and peptides, and advanced analytical approaches, including HPLC and UPLC for separation, and MS/MS and NMR spectroscopy for detection and structural elucidation. The review also highlights the nutraceutical potential of pseudocereals in preventing chronic diseases, promoting overall health, and addressing nutritional deficiencies. Furthermore, pseudocereals demonstrate significant industrial potential through their versatile applications in gluten-free bakery products, meat analogues, dairy substitutes, fermented beverages, edible films, animal feed formulations, and nutraceutical delivery systems. Considering their adaptability to marginal environments, resilience to climate stress, and superior nutritional profiles, integrating pseudocereals into modern agriculture and diets aligns with achieving SDGs such as zero hunger, good health and well-being, and sustainable agriculture. This review serves as a comprehensive re…
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Pseudocereal proteins provide a more balanced essential amino acid profile than many staple cereals.
“Their proteins also provide a more balanced essential amino acid profile than many staple cereals (Kaur et al., 2025; Nandan et al., 2024).”
From Structure-function design of amaranth, buckwheat and quinoa proteins as hydrocolloids for emulsion and gel structuring (2027) · cites this paper as Kaur et al., 2025
Cites
Lee, Y. S., Kim, J.-W., Osborne, O., Oh, D. Y., Sasik, R., Schenk, S., Chen, A., Chung, H., Murphy, A., Watkins, S. M., et al. (2014) · Cell · doi:10.1016/j.cell.2014.05.012 · Cited by 598 · see citing works
Phytoecdysteroids and Anabolic Androgenic Steroids--Structure and Effects on Humans
Bathori, M., Toth, N., Hunyadi, A., Marki, A., & Zador, E. (2008) · Current Medicinal Chemistry · doi:10.2174/092986708783330674 · Cited by 201 · see citing works
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Yan, X., & Zhu, F. (2027) · Food Hydrocolloids · doi:10.1016/j.foodhyd.2026.113137
- Authors
- Kaur, S., Ghosh, A., J, S., Kaur, G., Singh, G., Pandey, P., Kumar, A., Seem, K., Bhardwaj, R., & Riar, A.
- Venue
- Food Chemistry Advances
- Publisher
- Elsevier BV
- Published
- 2025-09
- Volume
- 8
- Pages
- 101066
- ISSN
- 2772-753X
- Cited by
- 7
- References
- 2
- Language
- en
- Licence
- Funders
- FiBL
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