Bioactive compounds and antioxidant characterization of three edible wild plants traditionally consumed in the Umbria Region (Central Italy): Bunias erucago L. (corn rocket), Lactuca perennis L. (mountain lettuce) and Papaver rhoeas L. (poppy)

Abstract

The leaves of three edible wild plants, Bunias erucago L. (Corn rocket), Lactuca perennis L. (Mountain lettuce) and Papaver rhoaes L. (Poppy) were analysed for their proximate composition, some nutraceutical components and total antioxidant capacity. The protein levels ranged from 2.7 to 4.1 g/100 g of the edible portion. The range of dietary fibre content was 3.8 to 6.4 g/100 g of the edible portion. The amount of ash, carbohydrate and lipid ranged from 1.7 to 1.9, 3.3 to 4.4 and 0.22to 0.45 g/100 g of the edible portion, respectively. Lipids consisted mainly of polyunsaturated fatty acids with the highest value for the Bunias erucago L. (71.8 % of total fatty acids) and Lactuca perennis L. (70.0 %). Potassium (374.0-521.0 mg/100 g) and calcium (204.8-331.8 mg/100 g) were the most representative macro-elements in the species studied. The values of vitamin E, b-carotene and total vitamin C are included in the range from 0.91 to 2.61 mg/100 g, from 1,957 to 2,631 mg/100 g and from 19.2 to 31.0 mg/100 g, respectively. Our results showed that the total antioxidant capacity performed by the Oxygen Radical Absorbance Capacity (ORAC) method, which ranges from 27.2 to 63.7 μmol TE/g, is highly justifiable by the high content of phenolic compounds (159-246 mg GAE/100 g).