Abstract
Wild edible plants are an important source of healthy food and have played an important role in traditional Mediterranean diets. In this paper, quality characteristics were typified in Portulaca oleracea L. and Porophyllum ruderale (Jacq.) Cass, undervalued plants inherent to the spring-summer season in the Valencian coastal region. Nutritional composition and bioactive compounds were analyzed and compared between plants in wild and organic cultivation conditions. Proximate analysis was carried out according to Association of Official Analytical Chemists methods. Total antioxidants were measured as 2.2-diphenyl-1-picrylhydrazyl hydrate and total polyphenols content via the Folin–Ciocalteu procedure. The HS-SPME technique was used to characterize the volatiles profile, and the polyphenol profile was evaluated by HPLC. The most important microelement was iron. Total antioxidants ranged from 4392.16 to 7315.00 μmol Trolox·equivalents 100 g−1 fw, and total phenolic content ranged from 99.09 to 391.18 mg gallic acid equivalents·100 g−1 fw. Results show that the content of antioxidants and phenols was higher in wild species than in cultivated ones. The volatiles profile revealed that P. ruderale was rich in monoterpenoids (48.65–55.82%), and fatty alcohols were characteristic in P. oleracea species (16.21–54.18%). The results suggest that both plants could be healthy foods and could have new sustainable agro-ecological potential for the local commercial sector.
Highlights
The Food and Agriculture Organization of the United Nations estimates that 75% of the genetic diversity of the world’s crops has been lost
Providing the growing world population with healthy food based on sustainable and alternative food systems is a pressing social challenge of the 21st century [6], even more so considering the situation generated by the COVID pandemic, which essentially highlighted the need for change in many aspects of modern life, among which include food sustainability and the conservation of undervalued plants as future resources [7,8]
The proximate nutritional compositions of fresh leaves and small tender stems of P. ruderale and P. oleracea were evaluated; this included the most representative macrominerals and microminerals
Summary
The Food and Agriculture Organization of the United Nations estimates that 75% of the genetic diversity of the world’s crops has been lost. The rest of plant species are underused and undervalued, causing loss of agrobiodiversity in territories [2,3], even though many of these plants have high economic, ecological, and food potential. Factors such as climate change, deforestation, and cultural erosion influence the disappearance of many plant species that at times were very important in human intake as healthy food, giving them the status of undervalued, with serious consequences for agriculture, nutrition, and food security [4]. Providing the growing world population with healthy food based on sustainable and alternative food systems is a pressing social challenge of the 21st century [6], even more so considering the situation generated by the COVID pandemic, which essentially highlighted the need for change in many aspects of modern life, among which include food sustainability and the conservation of undervalued plants as future resources [7,8]
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