Nutritional value of Chia seeds

Chia seed is the seed of Salvia hispanica L., a mint plant. It originates from southern Mexico, Guatemala and other North American regions. Among them, the best quality is called tiger pattern Chia seeds.

Chia seeds is small, generally 1.87 ± 0.1mm long, 1.21 ± 0.08mm wide, 0.88 ± 0.04mm thick, elliptical, smooth surface, color from beige to dark brown, with marble veins on the surface [1]. Light colored seeds are slightly fuller than black seeds in weight, width and thickness [2]. It is the food with the highest content of omega-3 fatty acids and contains natural antioxidants.

Chia seeds is rich in essential fatty acids α- Linolenic acid, a variety of antioxidant active ingredients (chlorogenic acid, caffeic acid, myricetin, quercetin, kaempferol, etc.), is the source of natural omega-3 fatty acids and is rich in dietary fiber, protein, vitamins, minerals, etc.

Table 1 Comparison of nutritional composition of Chia seeds and other cereals (/ 100g)

Nutrition: Chia seeds, quinoa, amaranth, flaxseed

Energy (kcal) 486 n / R n / R 450

Protein (g) 16.54 14.8-25.7 14.9 20

Total fat (g) 30.74 5.3-6.2 9.1 41

Free fatty acid (g) 3.33 n / R 2.45 n / R

Monounsaturated fatty acid (g) 2.31 n / R 2.17 n / R

Polyunsaturated fatty acid (g) 23.67 n / R 4.47 23

Trans fatty acid 0.14 n / R 0.02 n / R

Omega-3 17.83 n / R n / R n / R

Cholesterol 0 N / R n / R 0.09

Carbohydrate (g) 42.12 55.8-69.1 70.3 29

Dietary fiber (g) 34.40 8.8-12.1 12 28

Note: n / R: no report;

Dietary fiber in Chia seeds

According to the survey statistics of American Diabetes Association (ADA), the daily recommended amount of dietary fiber is 20-35g / day. Every 100g Chia seeds contains 30-40g dietary fiber, which can reach the recommended daily dietary amount for adults [4].

Table 2 Comparison of total dietary fiber content in several foods [4] (g / 100g edible parts)

Chia seeds 34.4 peanut 8.5

Flaxseed 27.3 soybean 9.6

Amaranth 6.7 apple (dry weight) 8.7

Quinoa 7.0 banana (dry weight) 9.9

Almond 12.2 peach (dry weight) 8.2

Fat and its composition in Chia seeds

The linolenic acid rich in Chia seeds is a kind of polyunsaturated fatty acid and a precursor of Omega-3. According to the research, the unsaturated fatty acid in Chia seeds accounts for 80.5% of the total fat content, and the ratio of n-6 / n-3 is reasonable. (the imbalance of n-6 and n-3PUFA intake in human diet will lead to cardiovascular and cerebrovascular diseases, cancer, inflammation and autoimmune diseases).

Protein in Chia seeds

The protein content of Chia seeds is between 15-23%, which has a great relationship with the growth area. The protein content of Chia seedss is higher than that of traditional Cereals, wheat and rice. It is worth mentioning that Chia seeds protein does not contain gluten, so it is a very good protein source for people with gluten allergy. Chia seeds contains 8 kinds of essential amino acids required by human body, and the amino acid combination is close to the ideal mode of FAO / who, so it has good nutritional value.

Table 3 Comparison of protein content of several cereals [4]

Grain Name: protein content (%)

Chia seeds 20.7

Wheat 13.68

Barley 12.48

Corn 9.42

Rice 6.50

Table 4 amino acid content of Chia seeds [4]

Amino acid name content g / 100g amino acid name content g / 100g

Essential amino acid: phenylalanine 1.016; non essential amino acid: aspartic acid 1.689

Threonine 0.709 serine 1.049

Valine 0.950 glutamic acid 3.500

Methionine 0.588, glycine 0.943

Isoleucine 0.801, alanine 1.044

Leucine 1.371, cysteine 0.407

Tryptophan 0.436 tyrosine 1.016

Lysine 0.970, arginine 2.143

Histidine (essential for infants) 0.531 proline 0.776

(4) Vitamins

Chia seeds is a high-quality source of B vitamins. Compared with other cereals, the content of nicotinic acid (VB3) is higher than that of corn, soybean, oats, wheat, etc. [5].

Table 4 vitamin content of Chia seeds (/ 100g) [4]

Vitamin unit content

Vitamin C (mg) 1.60

Thiamine (VB1) mg 0.62

Riboflavin (VB2) mg 0.17

Nicotinic acid (VB3) mg 8.83

Folic acid μ g 49

Vitamin A IU 54.00

Vitamin E（ α- Tocopherol) mg 0.50

(5) Minerals

Chia seedss are rich in minerals. Compared with 100g milk, Chia seeds contains 6 times of calcium, 11 times of phosphorus and 4 times of potassium as well as iron, zinc and copper. Compared with other grains such as wheat, rice, oats and corn, the calcium content of Chia seeds is about 13-354 times, the phosphorus content is about 1-12 times, and the potassium content is 1.6-9 times.

Table 5 mineral content of Chia seeds (/ 100g)

Mineral mg

Calcium 631

Potassium 407

Magnesium 335

Phosphorus 860

Selenium 55.2 μ g

Copper 0.924

Iron 7.72

Sodium 16

Zinc 4.58

(6) Antioxidants

Chia seeds contains a variety of antioxidant active substances, most of which are chlorogenic acid and caffeic acid, followed by myricetin, quercetin, kaempferol, tocopherol, etc. these antioxidant substances interact with each other, making the antioxidant activity of Chia seeds higher than that of VC and ve [6] [7].

Table 6 content of antioxidant active components in Chia seedss

Substance (mol / kg)

Caffeic acid (non water soluble) 6.6 × ten

Caffeic acid (water soluble) 13.5 × ten

Chlorogenic acid 7.1 × ten

Myricetone 3.1 × ten

Quercetin 0.2 × ten

Kaempferol 1.1 × ten