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{{Short description|Edible seeds of Salvia hispanica or related}}
{{Use dmy dates|date=August 2021}}
[[File:Seed of chia (Salvia hispanica)Salvia hispanica group.jpg|thumb|Color and detail of chia seeds close-up]]
'''Chia seeds''' ({{IPAc-en|tʃ|iː|ə}} {{respell|CHEE|ah}}) are the edible seeds of ''[[Salvia hispanica]]'', a flowering plant in the [[Mentha|mint]] family ([[Lamiaceae]]) native to central and southern Mexico,<ref>"Salvia hispanica". Germplasm Resources Information Network (GRIN). Agricultural Research Service (ARS), United States Department of Agriculture (USDA). Retrieved 21 March 2012.</ref> or of the related ''[[Salvia columbariae]]'', ''[[Salvia polystachia]]'', or ''[[Salvia tiliifolia]]''. Chia seeds are oval and gray with black and white spots, and have a diameter of around {{convert|2|mm|sigfig=1}}. The seeds are [[Hygroscopy|hygroscopic]], absorbing up to 12 times their weight in liquid when soaked and developing a [[mucilaginous]] coating that gives chia-based foods and beverages a distinctive [[gel]] texture.

There is evidence that the crop was widely [[Agriculture in Mesoamerica|cultivated]] by the [[Aztecs]] in [[Pre-Columbian era|pre-Columbian times]] and was a [[staple food]] for [[Mesoamerican]] cultures. Chia seeds are cultivated on a small scale in their ancestral homeland of central Mexico and Guatemala and commercially throughout Central and South America.

== Description ==
[[File:Seed of chia (Salvia hispanica)Salvia hispanica profile.jpg|thumb|Chia seed measuring 2 mm]]
[[File:Semillas de Chía.jpg|thumb|upright|Chia seeds|alt=|left]]
[[File:Chia plant leafs 3.jpg|thumb|Leaves]]
Typically, chia seeds are small flattened ovoids measuring on average {{convert|2.1|×|1.3|×|0.8|mm|in|2|abbr=on}}, with an average weight of 1.3 mg per seed.<ref>{{cite journal|title=Physical properties of chia (Salvia hispanica L.) seeds  |last1=Ixtaina |first1=Vanesa Y. |last2=Nolasco |first2=Susana M. |last3=Tomás |first3=Mabel C.| journal= Industrial Crops and Products |issn=0926-6690 |volume=28 |issue=3 |date=November 2008 |pages=286–293|doi=10.1016/j.indcrop.2008.03.009 |hdl=11336/152366 |hdl-access=free }}</ref> They are mottle-colored with brown, gray, black, and white. The seeds are hydrophilic, absorbing up to 12 times their weight in liquid when soaked; they develop a mucilaginous coating that gives them a gel texture. Chia (or chian or chien) has mostly been identified as ''Salvia hispanica'' L. Other plants referred to as "chia" include "golden chia" (''Salvia columbariae''). The seeds of ''Salvia columbariae'' are also used for food.

Seed yield varies depending on cultivars, mode of cultivation, and growing conditions by geographic region. For example, commercial fields in Argentina and Colombia vary in yield range from {{cvt|450|to|1250|kg/ha}}.<ref name="ayerza1998">{{Cite journal | volume = 75 | issue = 10 | pages = 1417–1420 | last1 = Coates | first1 = Wayne | first2 = Ricardo |last2=Ayerza | title = Commercial production of chia in Northwestern Argentina | journal = Journal of the American Oil Chemists' Society | date = 1998 | doi=10.1007/s11746-998-0192-7| s2cid = 95974159 }}</ref><ref name="coates_ayerza1996">{{Cite journal | volume = 5 | issue = 3 | pages = 229–233 | last = Coates | first = Wayne |author2=Ricardo Ayerza | title = Production potential of chia in northwestern Argentina | journal = Industrial Crops and Products | year = 1996 | doi=10.1016/0926-6690(96)89454-4}}</ref> A small-scale study with three cultivars grown in the inter-Andean valleys of Ecuador produced yields up to {{cvt|2300|kg/ha}}, indicating that favorable growing environment and cultivar interacted to produce such high yields.<sup>[[Salvia hispanica#cite note-ayerza coates2009-20|[20]]]</sup> Genotype has a larger effect on yield than on protein content, oil content, fatty acid composition, or phenolic compounds, whereas high temperature reduces oil content and degree of unsaturation, and raises protein content.<ref name="ayerza_coates2009">{{Cite journal | doi = 10.1016/j.indcrop.2009.03.009 | issn = 0926-6690 | volume = 30 | issue = 2 | pages = 321–324 | last = Ayerza (h) | first = Ricardo |author2=Wayne Coates | title = Influence of environment on growing period and yield, protein, oil and α-linolenic content of three chia (Salvia hispanica L.) selections | journal = Industrial Crops and Products | year = 2009 }}</ref>

{{nutritionalvalue
| name=Chia seeds, dried, raw
| kcal=486
| protein=16.5 g
| fat=30.7 g
| satfat = 3.3 g
| monofat = 2.3 g
| polyfat = 23.7 g
| omega3fat = 17.8 g
| omega6fat = 5.8 g
| carbs=42.1 g
| fiber=34.4 g
| sugars=
| calcium_mg=631
| iron_mg=7.7
| magnesium_mg=335
| phosphorus_mg=860
| potassium_mg=407
| zinc_mg=4.6
| manganese_mg=2.72
| vitC_mg=1.6
| thiamin_mg=0.62
| riboflavin_mg=0.17
| niacin_mg=8.83
| pantothenic_mg=
| vitB6_mg=
| folate_ug=49
| vitE_mg=0.5
| vitA_ug=54
| water=5.8 g
| source_usda=1
| note=[https://fdc.nal.usda.gov/food-details/170554/nutrients Link to USDA Database entry]
}}

==History==
[[File:Salviahispanica-florentinecodex2.jpg|thumb|Drawing from the ''[[Florentine Codex]]'' showing a ''S. hispanica'' plant<ref name="CAHILL" />]]

''Salvia hispanica'' is described and pictured in the ''[[Codex Mendoza]]'' and the ''Florentine Codex'', <!-- 16th-century --> [[Aztec codices]] created between 1540 and 1585. Tribute records from the ''Mendoza Codex'', ''[[Matrícula de Tributos]]'', and the ''Matricula de Huexotzinco'' (1560), along with colonial cultivation reports and linguistic studies, detail the geographic location of the tributes and provide some geographic specificity to the main ''S.{{nbsp}}hispanica''-growing regions. Most of the provinces grew the plant, except for areas of lowland coastal tropics and desert, and it was given as an annual tribute by the people to the rulers in 21 of the 38 Aztec provincial states. The traditional cultivation area was in a distinct area that covered parts of north-central Mexico, south to [[Guatemala]].  A second and separate area of cultivation, apparently pre-Columbian, was in southern [[Honduras]] and [[Nicaragua]].<ref name="Jamboonsri">" A second pre-Columbian cultivation area is known in southern Honduras and Nicaragua."{{cite journal|last1=Jamboonsri|first1=Watchareewan|first2=Timothy D. |last2=Phillips |first3=Robert L. |last3=Geneve |first4=Joseph P. |last4=Cahill |first5=David F. |last5=Hildebrand|year=2011|title=Extending the range of an ancient crop, ''Salvia hispanica'' L.—a new ω3 source|journal=Genetic Resources and Crop Evolution|volume=59|issue=2|doi=10.1007/s10722-011-9673-x|pages=171–178|s2cid=14751137}}</ref>

Chia seeds served as a staple food for the [[Nahuatl]] (Aztec) cultures. It may have been as important as maize as a food crop. [[Jesuit]] chroniclers placed chia as the third-most important crop in the Aztec culture, behind only corn and beans, and ahead of [[amaranth]]. Offerings to the Aztec priesthood were often paid in chia seed.<ref name="CAHILL">{{Cite journal|last=Cahill |first=Joseph P. |year=2003 |title=Ethnobotany of Chia, ''Salvia hispanica'' L. (Lamiaceae) |journal=Economic Botany |volume=57 |issue=4 |pages=604–618 |doi=10.1663/0013-0001(2003)057[0604:EOCSHL]2.0.CO;2|s2cid=35611803 }}</ref>

In the 21st century, chia is grown and consumed commercially in its native Mexico and Guatemala, as well as Bolivia, Argentina, Ecuador, Nicaragua, Australia, the United Kingdom and the United States.<ref name="Kintzios">{{cite book |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=iE7-nuI9S7UC&pg=PA17 |title=Sage: The Genus Salvia |last=Kintzios |first=Spiridon E. |publisher=CRC Press |year=2000 |isbn=978-90-5823-005-8 |page=17}}</ref><ref>{{cite news |url=https://www.nytimes.com/2012/11/24/business/chia-seeds-gain-popularity-for-nutritional-benefits.html?_r=0 |title=30 Years After Chia Pets, Seeds Hit Food Aisles |author=Stephanie Strom |date=23 November 2012 |newspaper=[[The New York Times]] |access-date=26 November 2012 |quote=Whole and ground chia seeds are being added to fruit drinks, snack foods and cereals and sold on their own to be baked into cookies and sprinkled on yogurt. ... |author-link=Stephanie Strom}}</ref><ref>{{cite web|url=https://www.smh.com.au/small-business/growing/is-chia-the-next-quinoa-20150514-gh1mb2.html|title=Is chia the next quinoa?|author=Dunn C|publisher=The Sydney Morning Herald|date=25 May 2015|access-date=13 February 2016}}</ref> New patented varieties of chia have been developed in [[Kentucky]] for cultivation in northern latitudes of the United States.<ref>{{cite web|url=https://www.uky.edu/ccd/sites/www.uky.edu.ccd/files/chia.pdf|title=Chia|publisher=University of Kentucky, College of Agriculture, Food and Environment, Center for Crop Diversification Crop Profile|date=February 2016|author1=Cheryl Kaiser |author2=Matt Ernst |access-date=13 February 2016}}</ref>

==Nutrition==
Dried chia seeds contain 6% water, 42% [[carbohydrates]] (including a high content of [[dietary fiber]]), 16% [[protein]], and 31% fat (table). In a reference amount of {{convert|100|g}}, chia seeds supply 486 [[calorie]]s and are a rich source (20% or more of the [[Daily Value]], DV) of the [[B vitamins]] [[thiamin]] and [[Niacin (nutrient)|niacin]] (52% and 55% DV, respectively). They are also a moderate source of [[riboflavin]] (13% DV) and [[folate]] (12% DV). The seeds contain dense amounts of several [[dietary minerals]], including [[calcium]], iron, [[magnesium in biology|magnesium]], [[manganese in biology|manganese]], [[phosphorus in biology|phosphorus]], and [[zinc in biology|zinc]] (all more than 20% DV; table).

Chia oil contains a high percentage of essential fatty acids (approximately 60%) and a low content of saturated fatty acids.<ref>{{Cite journal |last1=Sundar |first1=Shyam |last2=Singh |first2=Balwinder |last3=Kaur |first3=Amritpal |date=2023-10-01 |title=Influence of hot-air and infra-red pretreatments on oxidative stability, physicochemical properties, phenolic and fatty acid profile of white and black chia seed (Salvia hispanica L.) oil |url=https://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/pii/S0889157523004301 |journal=Journal of Food Composition and Analysis |volume=123 |pages=105556 |doi=10.1016/j.jfca.2023.105556 |issn=0889-1575|url-access=subscription }}</ref> The fats of chia seed oil are mainly [[unsaturated fat|unsaturated]], with [[linoleic acid]] (17–26% of total fat) and [[α-linolenic acid]] (50–57%) as the major [[fatty acid]]s (see table).<ref>{{Cite journal |last=Ayerza|first=Ricardo |date=1 September 1995 |title=Oil content and fatty acid composition of chia (''Salvia hispanica'' L.) from five northwestern locations in Argentina |journal=Journal of the American Oil Chemists' Society |language=en |volume=72 |issue=9 |pages=1079–1081 |doi=10.1007/BF02660727 |s2cid=84621038 |issn=0003-021X}}</ref>

==As food==
{{Cookbook|Chia Seed}}[[File:Agua de chía.jpg|thumb|upright|Mexican [[Aguas frescas|''agua fresca'']] made using chía]]
Chia seeds may be added to other foods as a topping or put into [[smoothies]], [[breakfast cereals]], [[energy bars]], [[granola bars]], [[yogurt]], [[tortilla]]s, and bread.

They also may be made into a [[gelatin]]-like substance or consumed raw.<ref name=NPR>{{cite web |title=Chewing Chia Packs A Super Punch |work=NPR |url=https://www.npr.org/2012/07/15/156551074/chewing-chia-packs-a-superfood-punch |access-date=18 October 2012}}</ref><ref name="costantini2014">{{Cite journal |doi = 10.1016/j.foodchem.2014.05.095 |pmid = 25038671 |issn = 0308-8146 |volume = 165 |pages = 232–240 |last = Costantini |first = Lara |author2=Lea Lukšič |author3=Romina Molinari |author4=Ivan Kreft |author5=Giovanni Bonafaccia |author6=Laura Manzi |author7=Nicolò Merendino |title = Development of gluten-free bread using tartary buckwheat and chia flour rich in flavonoids and omega-3 fatty acids as ingredients| journal = Food Chemistry |date = 2014}}</ref> The gel from ground seeds may be used in place of eggs in baking, and it is a common substitute in vegan and allergen-free baking.<ref>{{cite journal |vauthors=Borneo R, Aguirre A, León AE |title=Chia (''Salvia hispanica'' L) gel can be used as egg or oil replacer in cake formulations |journal=J Am Diet Assoc |year=2010 |volume=110 |issue=6 |pages= 946–9 |doi=10.1016/j.jada.2010.03.011|pmid=20497788|hdl=11336/189116 |hdl-access=free }}</ref>

===In Europe===
Chia is considered a [[novel food]] in Europe because it does not have "a significant history of consumption within the European Union before 15{{nbsp}}May 1997", according to the Advisory Committee of Novel Foods and Processes.<ref name="eu">{{cite web |title=Commission Implementing Regulation (EU) 2017/2470 of 20 December 2017 establishing the Union list of novel foods per Regulation (EU) 2015/2283 of the European Parliament and of the Council on Novel Foods |url=https://eur-lex.europa.eu/legal-content/EN/TXT/?uri=CELEX:32017R2470 |publisher=Eur-Lex |access-date=16 August 2021 |date=20 December 2017}}</ref> Under this rule, chia seeds may be 5% of total matter in bread products. Prepackaged chia seeds must carry additional labelling to inform the consumer that the daily intake is no more than 15 grams and pure chia oil only 2 grams daily.<ref name=eu/>

Chia seeds sold in the EU are imported mainly from South American and Central American countries and require inspections for levels of pesticides, contaminants, and microbiological criteria.<ref>{{cite web|publisher=Centre for the Promotion of Imports, Ministry of Foreign Affairs, The Netherlands|date=18 January 2021|title=Entering the European market for chia seeds|url=https://www.cbi.eu/market-information/grains-pulses-oilseeds/chia-seeds/market-entry#what-requirements-must-chia-seeds-comply-with-to-be-allowed-on-the-european-market}}</ref>

===Preliminary health research===
Preliminary research remains sparse and inconclusive.<ref name=":0" /> In a 2015 [[systematic review]], most of the studies did not show an effect of chia seed consumption on cardiovascular risk factors in humans.<ref name="Effect of chia seed Salvia hispani">{{cite journal|year=2015|title=Effect of chia seed (Salvia hispanica L.) consumption on cardiovascular risk factors in humans: a systematic review|journal=Nutr Hosp|volume=32|issue=5|pages=1909–18|doi=10.3305/nh.2015.32.5.9394|pmid=26545644|vauthors=de Souza Ferreira C, etal}}</ref>

===Drug interactions===
No evidence to date indicates consuming chia seeds has [[adverse effects]] on, or interacts with, [[prescription drug]]s.<ref name=":0">{{cite journal|pmid=20028328|journal=Rev Recent Clin Trials|year=2009|volume=4|issue=3|pages=168–74|title=Chia (''Salvia hispanica''): a systematic review by the natural standard research collaboration |vauthors=Ulbricht C, etal|doi=10.2174/157488709789957709}}</ref>

==In popular culture==
===Chia pet===
[[File:Alligator Chia Pet.jpg|thumb|Chia pet alligator]]
{{Main|Chia Pet}}
Joe Pedott created a set of terracotta figurines called [[Chia Pet]] used to sprout chia. The first figurines were made in 1977, and they were marketed widely after 1982. During the 1980s in the United States, the first substantial wave of chia seed sales was tied to chia pets, clay figures that serve as the base for a sticky paste of chia seeds. After the figures are watered, the seeds sprout into a form suggesting a fur covering.

About 500,000 Chia Pets were sold in the U.S. in 2007 as novelties or [[house plant]]s, to a total of 15 million as of 2019, with most sales occurring during the holiday season.<ref name="smithsonianmag1">{{cite web|url=http://www.smithsonianmag.com/arts-culture/chia-pet-180308610/?c=y%3Fno-ist |publisher=Smithsonian Magazine|title=Chia pet|author=Owen Edwards|date= December 2007|access-date=30 July 2018}}</ref>

== References ==
{{reflist}}

== External links ==
{{Commons-inline|Category:Chia seeds}}

{{Authority control}}

[[Category:Edible nuts and seeds]]
[[Category:Salvia]]
[[Category:Seeds]]
[[Category:Crops originating from Pre-Columbian North America]]
[[Category:Crops originating from indigenous Americans]]
[[Category:Crops originating from Mexico]]
[[Category:Crops originating from the United States]]<!--indigenous pre-Columbian Californians-->
[[Category:Plants used in Native American cuisine]]