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Chenopodium pallidicaule, known as cañihua, canihua or cañahua (from Quechua language 'qañiwa, qañawa or qañawi')Teofilo Laime Ajacopa, Diccionario Bilingüe Iskay simipi yuyayk'ancha, La Paz, 2007 (Quechua-Spanish dictionary)Diccionario Quechua - Español - Quechua, Academía Mayor de la Lengua Quechua, Gobierno Regional Cusco, Cusco 2005 (Quechua-Spanish dictionary) and also kañiwa or kaniwa, is a species of goosefoot, similar in character and uses to the closely related quinoa ( Chenopodium quinoa).
Cañihua is native to the Andes, with more than 200 varieties, and it has been farmed in the Altiplano for millennia. As a crop, cañihua has distinct characteristics, including tolerance of high mountain conditions, high content of protein and dietary fiber, and rich polyphenol content.
Cañihua also vary from quinoa in its inflorescence and its flower traits. The inflorescences are situated on the terminal and axillar cimas. The flowers are small and without . There are three different types of flower. Hermaphrodite consists of both the stamen and the pistils. Another flower type are the pistillate flowers, which have pistils, but no stamens. The third type of flower are male sterile flowers.
The are small and dark, which contain brown or black seed with a diameter of 0.5 to 1.5 mm. The fruits are deciduous, which means that the seeds are lost spontaneously and are then dispersed. Once maturation is reached, the plant stem and leaves change in colour to yellow, red, green or purple.
Breeding goals are to increase the plant height and non-shattering behaviour, among other characteristics. Since 2019 a whole assembly reference genome for cañihua is available and renewed interest in improving agronomic properties using modern plant breeding is expected by experts.
After the Spanish Conquest cultivation of cañihua was discouraged due to its association with indigenous cultures. Today cañihua remains confined to Peru and Bolivia and the crop has not spread outside the arid highland regions. It is cultivated in the Peru and in the Altiplano of Bolivia, with the Punio department being particularly significant for cañihua cultivation.
There are only a few improved Landrace of or even Cultivar of cañihua. In Peru, the National Institute for Agricultural Innovation (INIA) has selected four landraces with favorable agronomic characteristics: Cupis, Ramis, and Illpa INIA 406. In Bolivia there are three improved varieties belonging to the Last'as type: Kullaca, Illimani and the most resent Qañawiri. Improved landraces typically show outstanding yield and reduced risk of grain losses in the maturity stage and during harvest.
There is an ongoing conservation effort for the genetic diversity of cañihua in Peru. The Gene bank of Camacani-UNA-Puno and Illpa-INIA-Puno currently house 430 unique samples from specific locations, accompanied by passport data and agronomic and morphological characterizations.
The plant was often cultivated in South America in the past. More than 200 varieties are known in Bolivia, but only twenty are still in use, with a majority of farmers cultivating just one.Bioversity International (2013). Creating markets for orphan crops, Bioversity International supports marketing link in food value chain. CGIAR.
Cañihua can be grown from 1500 m up to 4400 m, but is rarely cultivated below 3800 m. The plant exhibits a high resistance to abiotic stressors. Cañihua can tolerate drought as it is adapted to low rainfall and dry conditions. With a growing season precipitation of 500 to 800 mm, irrigation becomes unnecessary. Furthermore, Cañihua displays resilience to saline conditions, often prevalent in areas with fast-growing populations and low water availability. Cañihua can be grown in any type of moderately fertile soil, including shallow, acidic and alkaline soils. Cañihua tolerates a broad spectrum of high and low temperatures and is not affected by frost. Also, its seeds germinate at low temperatures. However, the plant does not grow well in the shade, near the sea or in excessively humid conditions.
There are numerous native varieties in the Peruvian highlands, some have beneficial agronomic characteristics. The varieties are interesting for inclusion in breeding programs, aimed to enhance the adaptability of cañihua for cultivation on larger scales. So far limited investment has been made into the agronomic improvement of cañihua. One possible reason could be that the Amaranthaceae family consists of plants with comparable characteristics, resulting in potential market competition. On the other hand, the success of quinoa and the increasing demand for it in western countries, could facilitate the entry to the global market.
Compared to quinoa, the value chain of cañihua from producers to both rural and urban markets is underdeveloped. For the rural livelihoods in South America cañihua has potential regarding food security, nutrition and self-reliance. (1989). 9780309042642, National Academies Press. ISBN 9780309042642
The crop was experimentally produced in Finland and showed good results. The risk of outcrossing is very small, as cañihua is self-pollinating. The risk of becoming invasive remains.Lauber K, Wagner G, Gygax A & Eggenberg S (2014). Flora Helvetica. pp. 594–600. Haupt, Bern. . As normally grown under harsh conditions with low weed pressure, this crop could suffer yield losses in varying climates. To overcome the higher weed pressure, planting in rows can facilitate weeding. Further research is required for improving fertilization, and thus increasing yields. Locally there are good results with sheep manure and nearly no fertilizer needs to be applied in crop rotations with potatoes. The most important breeding aims are the reduction of seed scattering and increased seed size.Becker H (2011). Pflanzenzüchtung. pp. 10–11. Ulmer, Stuttgart. .
The cooking and extrusion technology tests have already shown successful results in several countries. This technology present numerous advantages such as low cost, simple operation, moderate production volume, minimum auxiliary equipment, versatility, good sanitary conditions and easy management. Results from a study demonstrated that the initial moisture content of 12% was optimal to obtain an extrudate with good physicochemical characteristics (e.g. degree of gelatinization, sectional expansion index, water absorption index, water solubility index and density). Additionally, roasting does not significantly affect the dialysability of nutritionally valuable minerals in qañiwa. Boiling, however, was found to increase zinc, iron and calcium dialysability.
In order to alleviate problems of food security, new food-processing technologies and products are being developed to encourage companies to process native Andean crops and to increase their consumption as well as open market opportunities using cañihua.
The protein content (15.3%) of cañihua grain is higher than that of quinoa and kiwicha, and similar to wheat (12.6%) and oats (16.9%). The Protein of cañihua mainly belong to the albumin and the globulin type.
These two protein types are non-glutens and have a very good amino acid balance.Žilić, S., Barać, M., Pešić, M., Dodig, D., & Ignjatović-Micić, D. (2011). Characterization of proteins from grain of different bread and durum wheat genotypes. International journal of molecular sciences, 12(9), 5878-5894. https://doi.org/https://doi.org/10.3390/ijms12095878
The grains contain all nine essential amino acids thus lysine, histidine, threonine, methionine, valine, isoleucine, leucine, phenylalanine and tryptophan and meet the children's and adults' daily requirements for essential amino acids.
They are especially rich in sulfur Amino acid, lysine and aromatic amino acids.
The lipids consist mainly of unsaturated fatty acids. The unsaturated fatty acids account for 71.4% of the total lipid content in cañihua. They consist of high concentrations of linoleic acid (39.2%), an omega-6 fatty acid which is essential for human health, and oleic acid (28.6%), an omega-9 fatty acid. Generally, polyunsaturated fatty acids are the most abundant followed by monounsaturated and saturated fatty acids. Wilson, B., Pollard, R., & Ferguson, D. (2014). Nutriential Hazards: Macronutrients: Essential Fatty Acids. https://doi.org/https://doi.org/10.1016/B978-0-12-378612-8.00250-X
As an Andean grain, cañihua has a high content of Carbohydrate with starch as the most prevalent sugar. With percentages of 1% of glucose, 2% of sucrose and 1% of maltose, amounts of free sugars are rather small, but slightly higher than those of quinoa or amaranth.
Unlike quinoa, cañihua contains a lower amount of the bitter tasting saponins which affect taste and texture.
Furthermore, cañihua is considered as a good source of thiamine, riboflavin, niacin and vitamin C.
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! colspan="2" Nutritional value per 100 g (2025). 9786123101176, Instituto Nacional de Salud. ISBN 9786123101176Energy 1331-1595 kJ (318-381 kcal) Carbohydrates 61.0-66.2 g Available carbohydrates 45.5 g Dietary fiber 15.5 g Fat 3.5-8.9 g Proteins 13.8-15.7 g Minerals Quantity Calcium 87-171 mg Iron 10.8-17.07 mg Phosphorus 320-496 mg Zinc 4.55 mg Vitamins Quantity Niacin (B3) 1.2-1.56 mg Riboflavin (B2) 0.3-0.75 mg Thiamine (B1) 0.47-0.67 mg Vitamin C 0.0-2.2 mg Other constituents Quantity Water 10.7-12-4 g
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