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• sugar free
• gluten free
• dairy free
• low GI

Description

Grown in South America and in particular Peru for thousands of years, this purple corn is one of nature’s richest sources of at least six different anthocyanin antioxidants - even more than blueberries. This purple corn has been extensively used as a staple food and a natural colouring dye. Recently, anthocyanins have been studied and reported to have antimutagenic, antimicrobial and anticarcinogenic properties.

There are very few purple plants to be found in nature, and thus if you are to eat a true rainbow diet, this purple corn extract is a helpful and tasty addition.

Purple corn flour is made from simply grinding the kernels of the corn into a flour. In Peru the flour is called Harina de Maiz and is used like wheat flour is used here i.e. for just about everything.

       Nutritional information

     Serving suggestion

     Purple corn flour can be used like wheat flour or any other grain flour in recipes. It adds an exotic colour and nutritional benefits to whatever you make with it.

General information

Purple corn, a variety of Zea mays, is an Andean crop from low valleys locally called maiz morado. Purple corn can be found mostly in Peru, where it is cultivated in the coast, as well as in lands almost ten thousand feet high. There are different varieties of purple corn, and all of them originated from an ancestral line called “Kculli”, still cultivated in Peru. The Kculli line is very old, and ancient objects in the shape of these particular ears of corn have been found in archeological sites at least 2,500 years old in places in the central coast, as well as among the ceramics of the “Mochica” culture. Purple corn contains substantial amounts of phenolics and anthocyanins, among other phytochemicals. Its main colorant is cianidin-3-b-glucosa.

People of the Andes make a refreshing drink from purple corn called "chicha morada" which is now recognized as a nutritive powerhouse due to its phenolic content. Phenolics are known to have many bioactive and functional properties. Research shows that crops with the highest total phenolic and anthocyanin content also have the highest antioxidant activity.

Anthocyaninins are a type of complex flavonoid that produce blue, purple or red colors. Anthocyaninins encourage connective tissue regeneration and are anti-inflammatory. They promote blood flow and reduce cholesterol, in addition to being antioxidants. Anthocyaninins seem to stabilize and protect capillaries from oxidative damage and have been shown to stabilize connective tissue, promote collagen formation, improve microcirculation and help protect blood vessels from oxidative damage.

Purple Corn has higher antioxidant capacity and antiradical kinetics than blueberries and higher or similar anthocyanin and phenolic contents.