Determination and Metabolite Profiling of Mixtures of Triterpenoid Saponins from Seeds of Chilean Quinoa (Chenopodium quinoa) Germplasm

The seed pericarp of Chenopodium quinoa Willd. (quinoa) contains a mixture of triterpenoid saponins conferring undesired organoleptic properties. In this study, we evaluated saponin content and their corresponding sapogenins in 114 different quinoa accessions. Relative saponin content ranged from 0.22 to 15.04 mg/g of seed dry weight among the genotypes studied and the genotype effect was significant (p < 0.001). About 75% of the genotypes could be classified as low-saponin content lines which is promising in view of ongoing plant breeding efforts. In addition to the quantitative determination of saponins, metabolic profiling was performed by LC-FTICR-MS and LC-MS/MS. We obtained highly accurate mass estimation from ion spectra allowing the identification of twelve saponins of the oleanane type. These differ in their aglycons and in the number and type of glycoside units. Interestingly, we identified a saponin compound that, to our knowledge, had not been reported previously. Our study highlights that there is considerable variability concerning saponin content in quinoa, which contributes to the valorization of genetic resources towards the identification of genotypes that could be utilized in current and future quinoa breeding programs.