Quinoa (Chenopodium quinoa Willd.) and cañ ihua (Chenopodium pallidicaule Allen) are native Andean food plants of high nutritional value used as food by the Incas and previous cultures. An extensive analytical study was done on three samples for each species for all amino acids, sterols, fatty acids and mineral determination. The aim was to evaluate the chemical and nutritional characterization of cañ ihua and quinoa in relationship with wheat, corn, rice, rye, as sources of dietary fiber and other bioactive compounds in human and animal. C. quinoa and pallidicaule present an excellent nutritional value with high (14-18%) protein content, balanced amino acid composition, trace elements and vitamins and contain no gluten. This food species presented rich flavonol and triterpene glycosides fractions that include different compounds. C. quinoa and pallidicaule are an excellent example of functional foods that aims to prevent the risk of various diseases.

Cottonseeds are fed to high-producing dairy cows as a source of fat and highly-digestible fiber. Previously we reported the isolation and structure characterization of different phenolic compounds, quercetin, kaemferol and benzoic acid derivatives (1-9) from whole cottonseed by-product. In this paper the antioxidant activity of all isolated compounds was determined by measuring free radical scavenging effects using the Trolox equivalent antioxidant capacity assay and the coupled oxidation of β-carotene and linoleic acid (autoxidation assay). The range of phenolic compounds present in WCS (1.90 g/kg), assayed by the Folin-Ciocalteu method, and their antioxidant properties provides a valuable database for possible nutritional studies on the impact of diet on animal health and productivity.