Quinoa, as a whole‐nutrition grain, has broad application prospects in the field of human health. This study systematically analyzed the metabolic composition and functional differences of white, black, and red quinoa using UPLC–MS–based untargeted metabolomics. A total of 18 quinoa samples were collected, and 1339 metabolites were identified, indicating significant differences in metabolic profiles and related metabolic pathways among quinoa varieties of different colors. White quinoa was active in the terpenoid pathway. Dark‐colored quinoa was rich in metabolites from phenylalanine and flavonoid pathways. But black and red quinoa also showed differences in pathway branches. The results revealed clear metabolic differences among the three quinoa colors. This provides an important theoretical basis for their functional roles, nutritional evaluation, and food product development.
Wang et al. (Thu,) studied this question.