Luis Fernando Chavez‐Oliveros

Currently, the demand for healthy consumption and the use of alternatives to dairy proteins for the development of foods with good nutritional value are growing. Quinoa has received much attention because it contains a high content of proteins, essential amino acids, essential fatty acids, minerals, vitamins, dietary fibers, and bioactive compounds. Nevertheless, this content and the bioavailability of specific compounds of interest are related to the genotype, the agri‐environmental conditions, and management practices where quinoa is grown and postharvest management. This article aimed to analyze the research trends for three knowledge areas: quinoa plant breeding for nutraceutical properties, plant–soil relations focused on abiotic stresses, and postharvest and value‐added transformation activities. To this end, a specific methodological design based on bibliometrics and scientometrics methods was used. Through these analyses based on publications' keywords, titles, abstracts, and conclusions sections, for each knowledge area, the key research trends (scope and main topics), the classification of trends based on their development and relevance degree, and the core of knowledge were established. The trends comprise the current state of research. Finally, analyzing the conclusions, recommendations, and future research sections of key publications, a strong correlation among plant breeding research to obtain varieties with tolerance to biotic and abiotic stresses, nutritional and functional compounds of interest for food safety, and the development of products with higher added value established interest in further research on the potential bioactivity of quinoa and the verification of health benefits to humans.

Introduction. Jatropha curcas L., is a species with high oil content suitable for biofuel; however, due to its wild condition, the yield of fruit and oil is low; therefore, it warrants genetic improvement. Objective. To know the productive performance of J. curcas in three ecoregions of Colombia. Materials and methods. The work was carried out from 2012 to 2014. A randomized complete block design with fifteen genotypes in three ecoregions (dry Caribbean, Inter-Andean Valley and Orinoquia) was established. The AMMI model and its biplot graph were used to determine phenotypic stability of the fruit yield and with the oil yield the net benefit and the benefit-cost ratio were determined. Results. In two of the three ecoregions used; dry Caribbean and Inter-Andean Valley, J. curcas presented an accumulated fruit yield of 3.6 t ha-1 and 6.7 t ha-1, respectively; in the Orinoquia region the yield was less than 0.1 t ha-1. The cost of a liter of J. curcas oil was US$1.07 for Albania (dry Caribbean) and US$1.24 for Espinal (Inter-Andean Valley), higher than that of African palm oil (Elaeis guineensis) of US$0.89. Conclusion. The fifteen J. curcas genotypes used in this study showed the best productive performance in Albania (dry Caribbean) and Espinal (Inter-Andean Valley), and the CJC3 genotype was the one with the best fruits and oil production.