Abstract: The difference in the chemical composition of quinoa samples from different regions of China and abroad was studied. Fatty acids and non-polar small molecules were analyzed by gas chromatography-mass spectrometry (GC-MS), and the correlation between geographical origin and composition was evaluated by principal component analysis (PCA) and orthogonal partial least squares (OPLS) analysis. The results showed that fatty acid composition was similar in quinoa samples from different regions, with unsaturated fatty acid being dominant and accounting for more than 80% of total fatty acids. However, there were significant differences in fatty acid contents. Linoleic acid was the most abundant fatty acid, which represented about 50% of total fatty acids in all samples. The contents of non-polar small molecules were significantly correlated with geographical origin, and D-glucose, sucrose, maltose, and ribitol were different among samples from different regions.

Key words: quinoa, gas chromatography-mass spectrometry (GC-MS), compositional analysis