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Secondary Metabolites of Buckwheat and their Importance in Human Nutrition

I. Kreft*, G. Bonafaccia** and Aleksandra Žigo
**


University of Ljubljana, Biotechnical Faculty, 61111 Ljubljana, Slovenia

** Nation& Institute of Nutrition, Via Arcleatina 546, 00178 Rome, Italy

Article history:

Received June 20, 1994
Accepted December 22, 1994

Summary:

Buckwheat (Fagopyrum esculentum Moench) has excellent nutritional value because of high content of essential amino acids, relatively high content of zinc and because of content of rutin and some other secondary plant metabolites - polyphenols. Nutritional characteristics and possibilities for reintroduction of some buckwheat foods are discussed in the paper. Willi HPLC (High Performance Liquid Chromatography) the variety of polyphenols in seeds of buckwheat Darja was studied. In milling fractions there is a positive correlation between the contents of proteins and polyphenols. Precooking of buckwheat flour, pasta making and extrusion process do not influence much the amino acid composition of the products.