Daily Intake of Lemna minor or Spinach as Vegetable Does Not Show Significant Difference on Health Parameters and Taste Preference

Jurriaan J Mes,Els Oosterink,Ingrid M Van Der Meer,Els Siebelink,Dianne Somhorst,Sandra Van Der Haar,Meeke Ummels,Diederik Esser

doi:10.1007/s11130-022-00952-9

Jurriaan J Mes, Els Oosterink + Show 6 more

Open Access

https://doi.org/10.1007/s11130-022-00952-9

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Abstract

The growing world population will increase the demand for new sustainable foods and ingredients. Here we studied the safety and tolerance of Lemna minor, a new sustainable vegetable crop from the duckweed family. Twenty-four healthy adults consumed either L. minor plant material or spinach as vegetable (170 g fresh weight) as part of a warm meal on 11 consecutively days in a randomized controlled parallel trial design. The intervention meals had a different recipe for each day of the week. All participants had to report daily if they experienced gastric complaints, feelings of hunger, fullness, desire to eat, thirst, general health, nausea, and stool consistency. Only hunger, flatulence and constipation were significantly different between both intervention groups. At the start and end of the intervention, blood and urine were sampled in order to analyze biomarkers for general health, e.g., kidney function, liver function, cardiovascular health, inflammation and iron status. Both intervention groups did not show significant differences for these biomarkers. In taste attributes the L. minor-based products showed in only a few specific cases a significant difference compared to the spinach-based products. Based on the results we conclude that 11 consecutive days intake of 170 g fresh weight L. minor plants as a cooked vegetable does not result in any adverse effect in healthy adult subjects.

Highlights

The growing world population will demand a larger and more efficient food production [1]
Food that can be produced with low foot print and resilience against climate variation, that could be produced in urban areas or by vertical farming, and that can provide high nutritional value with a high protein content, will become of growing importance
Wolffia arrhiza and Wolffia globosa are consumed most in Southeast Asian countries but L.minor, L. gibba, Landoltia and Spirodela with their larger leaves might have a high potential as new sustainable vegetable crop

Summary

Introduction

The growing world population will demand a larger and more efficient food production [1]. Food that can be produced with low foot print and resilience against climate variation, that could be produced in urban areas or by vertical farming, and that can provide high nutritional value with a high protein content, will become of growing importance. Duckweed is a plant family that might fit all of these. Besides that, duckweed has been consumed by humans for generations as a nutritious vegetable (named ‘Khai-Nam’) in Southeast Asian countries [12]. The duckweed family can be divided into five genera Wolffia arrhiza and Wolffia globosa are consumed most in Southeast Asian countries but L.minor, L. gibba, Landoltia and Spirodela with their larger leaves might have a high potential as new sustainable vegetable crop

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