October 12,1872.] 
THE PHARMACEUTICAL JOURNAL AND TRANSACTIONS. 
281 
QTJINOA. 
(Chenopodium Quinoa.) 
BY M. C. COOKE, M.A. 
It is not long since that the seeds of this plant were 
procured from Peru, and sent to India in order to 
secure its introduction as a food plant into the Hima¬ 
layan region. It is in Peru and Chili that the 
plant is chiefly cultivated, although Humboldt remarks 
that in Mexico it ranks in utility with the potato, 
maize and wheat. Meyen says that for those 
countries in which it is grown, it is, next to the 
potato, the best gift which nature has bestowed on 
man. Over all the plateau of Southern Peru, above 
the height at which rye and barley still ripen, the 
quinoa is the principal object of agriculture, and on 
the plateau of Chuguito are vast fields quite covered 
with this plant, which, however, do not give the land¬ 
scape the charm of our own beautiful cornfields. On 
good soil this plant attains the height of three 
or four feet, and bears an immense quanthy 
of seeds, which, unfortunately, for a long time 
feed an innumerable flock of birds, like spar¬ 
rows, for this plant has the disadvantage that all 
its seeds do not ripen at the same time. The quinoa 
is still cultivated in Southern Chili, but before the 
introduction of cereals it was doubtless a more 
general food. The variety which according to 
Molina is called Daline by the Indians of Chili, and 
which has ash-grey leaves and white seeds, is the 
one commonly cultivated around the lake of Titicaca. 
In 1834 it was first known in this country, and in 
1838 was described and figured in Curtis’s ‘ Botanical 
Magazine.’ 
The Chenopodium Quinoa , Willd., is a herbaceous 
annual, with a stout erect angular stem of from 
three to four, or even five feet in height in a good 
soil; it branches considerably, with short erect 
branches. The lower leaves are as large as the 
human hand, and of somewhat triangular shape on 
long foot-stalks, and of a pale rather glaucous hue. 
Small green inconspicuous flowers, and afterwards 
the fruit, are produced on numerous panicles, both 
axillary and terminal. The whole habit of the 
plant closely resembles the goosefoot and spinach. 
The peculiar hue is caused by the myriads of glan¬ 
dular hairs, with subglobose iridescent heads, with 
which the plant is studded, and which are exceed¬ 
ingly beautiful under the microscope. 
It is said that any light argillaceous soil is suit¬ 
able for its cultivation. The ground appropriated 
to it is ploughed or well broken up, and the seeds 
sown in furrows a yard apart. Or the seeds may 
be sown in beds and afterwards transplanted. The 
seed time is in the spring, and the harvest about 
seven months after. 
When quite ripe, the seeds, which are about the 
size of white mustard seed, but flatter, are easil} r 
reduced to a whitish meal. It is not tenacious when 
mixed with water, as is the case with wheaten flour, 
but more resembles oatmeal, and is therefore scarcely 
fit for making bread. 
The starch granules are exceedingly minute, and 
constitute nearly 40 per. cent, of the grain in its 
natural state. According to analysis it contains 
upwards of five per cent, of sugar, seven and a half 
per cent, of casein, and upwards of eleven per cent, 
of albumen, and other protein compounds. Thislarge 
amount of protein is unusual in farinaceous seeds, 
and indicates considerable nutritive value. 
Thibd Series, No. 120. 
The varieties cultivated in Arequipa are called 
“ Colorada,” “ Amarilla,” “ Blanca,” “ Real,” “ Ccos- 
ccossa,” “ Uchacaclii,” “ Ccancolla,” Ccoyto,” and 
the bitter seeded variety “ Amarga.” 
In Lima two methods are employed in the pre¬ 
paration of quinoa. In one case it is boiled in 
water like oatmeal, and a kind of gruel is the result, 
in which the seeds float, or at least the remains of 
them; this is seasoned with pimento. The other 
method is a favourite with the ladies of Lima. The 
grains are slightly toasted like coffee, and boiled in 
water, yielding a brown coloured soup, which is 
seasoned with spices, and is of a taste so peculiar 
that few strangers like it. 
The red quinoa “ amarga ” is chiefly cultivated in 
small quantities in gardens. The seeds bruised and 
boiled in water are said to form a bitter decoction, 
which, mixed with sugar, is employed as a vulnerary 
for sores and bruises. Cataplasms are also made 
of it. The bitter quality is said to be removed by 
soaking in water. From other sources we learn that 
this variety is employed internally as an emetic, and 
also as a substitute for quinine in cases of ague, and 
externally as a poultice for cancer, gangrene, con¬ 
tusions, etc. 
The leaves of the quinoa are commonly eaten as 
a vegetable, and much resemble those of other 
species of Chenopodium, as, for instance, the Cheno¬ 
podium bonus-Henricus, and its ally the spinach. 
It still seems to be uncertain what is the medicinal 
value of the red quinoa, and to what its bitterness is 
to be attributed. "Whatever it may be, the bitter¬ 
ness seems to be confined to the husk or testa of 
the seed, and may be removed by digesting the seed 
in a dilute solution of carbonate of soda, and after¬ 
wards washing. It was this seed which was an a- 
lysed by Dr. Voelcker with the following results:— 
Natural 
Calcula- 
state. 
ted dry. 
Water. 
16-01 
Starch . 
38-72 
46.10 
Sugar and Extractive. 
512 
610 
Gum. 
3-94 
4-60 
Oil. 
4-81 
5-74 
Casein and a little soluble albumen. 
7-47 
8-91 
Insoluble albumen and other pro- 
tein compounds. 
11-71 
13-96 
Vegetable fibre. 
7-99 
9*53 
Inorganic matters. 
4-23 
5-06 
100-00 
100 00 
A somewhat similar plant, or perhaps two or three 
species, has long been cultivated in India for its 
farinaceous seeds, which are very much smaller 
than those of the Quinoa. Under the names of 
Amarantus gangeticus, Amarantus frumentaceus and 
Amarantus anardana, plants are referred to by dif¬ 
ferent authorities as yielding seeds resembling 
small millet, which are employed in a similar man¬ 
ner and for a like purpose. 
THE MICROSCOPE IN PHARMACY. 
BY HENRY BOOKLINGTON. 
(i Continued from p. 181.) 
Scilla— The “sliced and dried bulb of Urginea 
Scilia ” does not present features of special interest. 
Its structure is that of most bulbs, and consists 
