Quinoa: nutritive quality of seed and plant in animal nutrition

Quinoa (Chenopodium quinoa Willd.) belongs to the group of crops that are known as pseudocereals and it is a native of the Andean region. Quinoa has also been used in many countries as a grain, forage or silage crop for animals. Although claims of a nutritionally favorable quality of quinoa seed have been made, only limited information is available on the evolution of the chemical composition in the whole plant at different growth stages. The aim of this review is to highlight the potentialities of quinoa in animal nutrition, that is, for cattle, chickens, pigs, rabbits and laboratory animals, in order to increase the knowledge of this plant, and to encourage its use as an alternative protein and fibre source and as a source of important bioactive components (essential fatty acids, flavonoids, stanols, tocopherols, tocotrienols, carotenoids and squalene).