Improved methodologies for extraction of salt in halophytes

Abstract

Event Abstract Back to Event Improved methodologies for extraction of salt in halophytes Tiago Morais1*, João Vaz1, Loïc Carvalho1 and Leonel Pereira1 1 IMAR (Institute of Marine Research), Department of Life Sciences, Portugal There are known culinary applications of halophytes species, such as Atriplex halimus, Portulaca oleracea, Beta maritima, Salicornia europaea and Arthrocnemum macrostachyum, mostly due to their mineral content, as they provide an alternative to common salt. Species of the last two genera possess a curious salt resistance mechanism, in which they can store Na+ in vacuoles in their shoots, using these vacuoles to stimulate growth. It is theorized that this mechanism enables the extraction of a vegetable salt, with a different Na+/Cl- ratio , providing healthier applications for human consumption, due to lower Na+ levels. In the present work we try to validate an efficient method for extracting a vegetable salt from a commercial mixture of Salicornia europaea and Salicornia bigelovii, as well as wild Arthrocnemum macrostachyum. We compared the efficiency of two extraction solvents used on this methodology. The used process presented mean yield rates around 70% (Salicornia) and 50% (Arthrocnemum). The comparison of the results between genera was the expected, since Salicornia species are more succulent than Arthrocnemum. This method yield rates in Salicornia appear to be higher than the expected based on previous publication. The data suggests other elements of interest may be differently distributed between the two genera. A nutritional profile, which we intend to do, may elucidate about the contents of vegetable salt. Acknowledgements The authors would like to acknowledge the valuable help of Dr. Jorge Paiva in the identification of plant species used in this experiment. References Khan, M. and Gul, B. (2002). Arthrocnemum macrostachyum: a potencial case for agriculture using above seawater salinity. Prospects for Saline Agriculture, 353-364. Parks, G., Dietrich, M. and Schumaker, K. (2002). Increased vacuolar Na+/H+ exchange activity in Salicornia bigelovii Torr. in responce to NaCl. Journal of Experimental Botany 371, 1055-1065 Tikhomirova, N. (2005). Influence of high concentrations of mineral salts on production process and NaCl accumulation by Salicornia europaea plants as a constituent of the LSS phototroph link. Advances in Space Research 35, 1589-1593. Balnokin, Y. et al. (2010). Use of halophytic plants to recycling NaCl in human liquid waste in a bioregenerative life support system. Advances in Space Research 46, 768-774. Kudo, N. et al. (2010). Sodium tolerance of plants in relation to ionic balance and the absorption ability of microelements. Soil Science and Plant Nutrition 56, 225–233. Ladeiro, B. (2012). Saline Agriculture in the 21st Century: Using Salt Contaminated Resources to Cope Food Requirements. Journal of Botany. doi: 10.1155/2012/310705. Ma, J. et al., (2013). Global Transcriptome Profiling of Salicornia europaea L. Shoots under NaCl Treatment. Plos One 8, 1-10. doi: 10.1371/journal.pone.0065877. Gul, B. et al. (2013). Germination Strategies of Halophyte Seeds under Salinity. Enviromental and Experimental Botany 92, 4-18. Ventura, Y. and Sagi M. (2013). Halophyte crop cultivation: The case for Salicornia e Sarcocornia. Enviromental and Experimental Botany 92, 144-153. Keywords: Halophytes, mineral content, Extraction method, salt alternative, Arthrocnemum macrostachyum, Salicornia spp. Conference: IMMR | International Meeting on Marine Research 2014, Peniche, Portugal, 10 Jul - 11 Jul, 2014. Presentation Type: Poster Presentation Topic: BLUE BIOTECH Citation: Morais T, Vaz J, Carvalho L and Pereira L (2014). Improved methodologies for extraction of salt in halophytes. Front. Mar. Sci. Conference Abstract: IMMR | International Meeting on Marine Research 2014. doi: 10.3389/conf.fmars.2014.02.00053 Copyright: The abstracts in this collection have not been subject to any Frontiers peer review or checks, and are not endorsed by Frontiers. They are made available through the Frontiers publishing platform as a service to conference organizers and presenters. The copyright in the individual abstracts is owned by the author of each abstract or his/her employer unless otherwise stated. Each abstract, as well as the collection of abstracts, are published under a Creative Commons CC-BY 4.0 (attribution) licence (https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0/) and may thus be reproduced, translated, adapted and be the subject of derivative works provided the authors and Frontiers are attributed. For Frontiers’ terms and conditions please see https://www.frontiersin.org/legal/terms-and-conditions. Received: 24 Apr 2014; Published Online: 18 Jul 2014. * Correspondence: Mr. Tiago Morais, IMAR (Institute of Marine Research), Department of Life Sciences, Coimbra, 3001-401, Portugal, tsmorais86@gmail.com Login Required This action requires you to be registered with Frontiers and logged in. To register or login click here. Abstract Info Abstract The Authors in Frontiers Tiago Morais João Vaz Loïc Carvalho Leonel Pereira Google Tiago Morais João Vaz Loïc Carvalho Leonel Pereira Google Scholar Tiago Morais João Vaz Loïc Carvalho Leonel Pereira PubMed Tiago Morais João Vaz Loïc Carvalho Leonel Pereira Related Article in Frontiers Google Scholar PubMed Abstract Close Back to top Javascript is disabled. Please enable Javascript in your browser settings in order to see all the content on this page.