Impact of Baking on Vitamin E Content of Pseudocereals Amaranth, Quinoa, and Buckwheat

The aim of this study was to analyze the vitamin E composition of amaranth, quinoa, and buckwheat pseudocereals. The method used consisted of a one‐step extraction with hexane followed by normal‐phase high‐performance liquid chromatography (NP‐HPLC) coupled with a fluorescence detector. This method afforded complete separation of all vitamin E compounds present. In addition, vitamin E stability following high‐temperature processing such as breadmaking was also studied. The vitamin E composition differed significantly from grain type to grain type, and highest vitamin E content (expressed as α‐tocopherol equivalents) was found in quinoa grains, followed by amaranth and buckwheat (24.7, 15.4, and 6.3 μg/g respectively). None of the pseudocereal grains contained tocotrienols, which were only detected in wheat grains in minor quantities. Vitamin E recovery following breadbaking was high (70–93%) and gluten‐free breads containing pseudocereal had significantly higher vitamin E content compared with the gluten‐free control. Amaranth, quinoa, and buckwheat grains proved to be good sources of vitamin E and may be used as ingredients in gluten‐free products for improving vitamin E content and thus overall nutritional quality.