Food and Medicinal Uses of Ancestral Andean Grains in the Districts of Quinua and Acos Vinchos (Ayacucho-Peru)

Bibliographic Details
Title: Food and Medicinal Uses of Ancestral Andean Grains in the Districts of Quinua and Acos Vinchos (Ayacucho-Peru)
Authors: Roberta Brita Anaya, Eusebio De La Cruz, Luz María Muñoz-Centeno, Reynán Cóndor, Roxana León, Roxana Carhuaz
Source: Agronomy, Vol 12, Iss 5, p 1014 (2022)
Publisher Information: MDPI AG, 2022.
Publication Year: 2022
Collection: LCC:Agriculture
Subject Terms: Chenopodium quinoa Willd (quinoa), Amaranthus caudatus L. (achita), Chenopodium pallidicaule Aellen (cañihua), ethnobotany, Andean grains, food uses, Agriculture
More Details: Andean grains are key elements in the construction of family production systems. These seeds speak of the history of a people, their customs and ancestral knowledge. The general objective of the work was to evaluate the food use, crop management and traditional knowledge about the medicinal use of ancestral Andean grains among the inhabitants of the districts of Quinua and Acos Vinchos (Ayacucho-Peru). Basic descriptive research, carried out by means of convenience sampling, the sample size determined by the Law of Diminishing Returns, after signing an informed consent form. Semi-structured individual interviews were applied to 96 informants. A total of 96.9% of the informants reported that they obtained quinoa grain from their own crops, and 24.0% obtained achita grain that they sowed directly on their land; no cañihua was cultivated. A total of 58.3% use quinoa and achita in their diet. The variability of the food use of ancestral grains, specifically quinoa and achita, constitute a natural source of vegetable protein of high nutritional value, which represents one of the main foods of the inhabitants of Quinua and Acos Vinchos. Traditional medicine derived from the ancestral knowledge of Andean grains is barely preserved, but this is not the case for other medicinal plants in the area, as this knowledge is still preserved.
Document Type: article
File Description: electronic resource
Language: English
ISSN: 2073-4395
Relation: https://www.mdpi.com/2073-4395/12/5/1014; https://doaj.org/toc/2073-4395
DOI: 10.3390/agronomy12051014
Access URL: https://doaj.org/article/8b7b041ab8be4d4fbd7f53c94ddd9842
Accession Number: edsdoj.8b7b041ab8be4d4fbd7f53c94ddd9842
Database: Directory of Open Access Journals
More Details
ISSN:20734395
DOI:10.3390/agronomy12051014
Published in:Agronomy
Language:English