Knowledge and Consumption Habits Related with White Crowberries (Corema album L.)

Aida Moreira Da Silva,Maria João Barroca,Raquel P F Guiné

doi:10.3390/app11125463

Aida Moreira Da Silva, Maria João Barroca + Show 1 more

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https://doi.org/10.3390/app11125463

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Abstract

This study investigated the knowledge and consumption habits related with white crowberries (“camarinhas” in Portuguese) among the Portuguese population. It consisted of a questionnaire survey, undertaken on a sample of 501 participants, higher than 18 years old. For the treatment of data, basic descriptive statistics were used, complemented with the Mann–Whitney U test to assess some associations between categorical variables. Moreover, a tree classification analysis was carried out using a classification and regression tree (CRT) algorithm with cross-validation and a factor analysis was also used to treat the data. The results indicated that the majority of participants know the “camarinha” berry but the level of knowledge decreases from senior adults to young adults. On the other hand, the knowledge and overall perception about their nutritive value, sensorial characteristics and health benefits are low. Regarding the consumption of crowberries, it was found that more than half of the participants did not eat them, and 31.9% ate them only around once a year, mainly fresh, being hand-harvested from the wild by the participants. Furthermore, it was observed that the Portuguese considered that the information about crowberries is scarce, which could justify that only a small part of the participants recognized this plant as vulnerable, due to loss of its habitat, mainly by human actions and owing to lack of information. To fill the gap of information observed in Portuguese people, it is hoped that the project (IDEAS4life) that supports this work could contribute to increase the knowledge about this species and also to alert for the need of preserving this endogenous plant of the Southern European Atlantic coast.

Highlights

IntroductionDon (Ericaceae) is an endemic shrub of Atlantic coastal dunes of Iberian Peninsula and its fruits (Portuguese white crowberries, Atlantic pearls, beachberries, camariñas in Spanish or “camarinhas” in Portuguese) (Figure 1a,b)) have been used for centuries in traditional medicine or as a food ingredient
The age was classified into categories, according to: young adults, adults and senior adults, including the elderly
The knowledge about the berries, especially among adults and senior adults, had been related to childhood memories that were fallen by the wayside and that have been revived by the dissemination of information about the crowberries

Summary

Introduction

Don (Ericaceae) is an endemic shrub of Atlantic coastal dunes of Iberian Peninsula and its fruits (Portuguese white crowberries, Atlantic pearls, beachberries, camariñas in Spanish or “camarinhas” in Portuguese) (Figure 1a,b)) have been used for centuries in traditional medicine or as a food ingredient. The dioecious and perennial shrub is a drought-adapted plant that thrives in a wide range of coastal soils but grows preferentially in soils with percentages of sand around 70%, low levels of inorganic and organic nutrients, and pH between 5.6 and 7.8 [2]. The flowering and fruiting of C. album occurs from February to August and the beginning of ripening is in June [3].

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