Quinoa extract and stress in rats
What it found
In rats, a quinoa extract reduced signs of stress and anxiety caused by daily restraint, and improved long-term memory.
The same extract was given to mice at a high dose with no deaths.
What they found
Animal and lab studies
Anxiety and movement
In two behavioural tests, stressed rats that received the quinoa extract behaved more like unstressed rats. Stressed rats without the extract showed more anxiety-like behaviour and moved more.
Long-term memory
On day 14 of memory testing, rats given the quinoa extract had a longer delay before entering a dark compartment and fewer failed the test, compared with control rats. This suggests better long-term memory.
Stress hormones
Daily restraint raised corticosterone levels in both stressed groups. The quinoa extract did not bring corticosterone back down.
Urine catecholamines
Stressed rats without the extract had higher levels of norepinephrine and epinephrine in their urine. Stressed rats given the extract had levels similar to unstressed rats.
Oxidative stress marker
In stressed rats without the extract, malondialdehyde rose by more than 77% compared with controls. In rats given the extract, it fell back to control levels, and superoxide dismutase activity was 35% higher than in controls.
Acute toxicity in mice
A single oral dose of 5000 mg per kg of body weight caused no deaths in mice over 14 days. No changes were seen in body weight, liver weight, liver fat, or blood markers.
What the authors conclude
“The conducted experiment demonstrated the effectiveness of nutritional support using FFIs from Chenopodium quinoa on the immobilization stress model.”
Also in their conclusions
- They say the experiment showed that nutritional support with the quinoa extract was effective in their stress model.
- They say the extract normalised malondialdehyde and catecholamine levels while keeping superoxide dismutase activity high, which helped normalise behaviour and cognitive function in the animals.
- They advise further study of the extract's adaptogenic properties in clinical studies as part of specialised foods for people exposed to chronic stress.
How it was done
The authors wanted to see whether a quinoa extract rich in phytoecdysteroids and polyphenols could help the body resist stress, as part of developing specialised food products.
They gave a quinoa extract to rats that were restrained for 40 minutes a day for 36 days, and tested their behaviour, memory and blood and urine markers. They also gave a single high dose to mice to check for acute toxicity.
What it can’t tell you
- These are animal studies. They cannot show what happens in people.
- The rats were all male and a single rat strain, so the results may not apply to other animals or to humans.
- The study did not test whether the extract prevents stress-related problems in people over time.
Who paid
- Funding
- Funded by Russian Science Foundation (from the PubMed record).
- Conflicts
- The authors declare no conflict of interest.
- Authors work at
- Federal Research Centre of Nutrition and Biotechnology, Russia
The paper
- Title
- Anxiolytic and Antioxidant Effect of Phytoecdysteroids and Polyphenols from Chenopodium quinoa on an In Vivo Restraint Stress Model
- Type
- Study
- Evidence
- Animals and lab studies
- Summarised from
- Full text
- Cite
- Sidorova YS, Shipelin VA, Petrov NA, Zorin SN, Mazo VK (2022). Anxiolytic and Antioxidant Effect of Phytoecdysteroids and Polyphenols from Chenopodium quinoa on an In Vivo Restraint Stress Model. Molecules (Basel, Switzerland). doi:10.3390/molecules27249003Free full textPubMed 36558137DOI
Summary written 26 Sep 2026. Check it against the paper before it changes what you eat. How we summarise papers · Report an error