Abstract
Improvement of dietary and ecological biodiversity, namely by exploring autochthonous varieties, is a key point to the construction of a more sustainable food system and planetary health. However, the environmental sustainability continues to face huge challenges, reflecting the importance of achieving a better understanding about the functional role of biodiversity in ecosystems. Thus, the main objective of this research is to contribute to the sustainable valorization of Sambucus nigra L. berries through a comprehensive approach to evaluate the effects of elderberry’s cultivar, harvest year, and plantation field on the physicochemical berry composition. Moreover, the nutritional value of elderberry juice and respective dried pomace was determined. This complementary information is of huge utility for the rational and, as much as possible, integral use of elderberries. The harvest year, followed by field and the interaction of harvest × field, accounted for the highest impact on the berry’s physicochemical parameters, indicating the importance of the combined impact of the macro- and mesoclimate conditions on plant metabolism. Elderberry juice and dried pomace are a good source of carbohydrates (ca. 12 and 82%, respectively) and have low amounts of fat (≤2.5%), making them low-energy foods. Dried pomace may also represent a potential alternative source of vegetal protein (ca. 6%).
Highlights
According to the Food and Agriculture Organization of the United Nations (FAO), there are over 50,000 edible plants; only 60% of human energy intake comes from just three plant species: rice, maize, and wheat
The orange juice contains a lower concentration of these micronutrients compared to the elderberry juice, namely Ca (11 mg/100 g), Mg (9.5 mg/100 g), and Fe (0.2 mg/100 g) [47]. These results indicate that elderberry juice can be used as a source of essential minerals, which can contribute to preventing various diseases, namely arthritis, atherosclerosis, and diabetes, among others [56,57]
The Sambucus nigra L. intra-variability among cultivars, ‘Sabugueiro’, ‘Sabugueira’, and ‘Bastardeira’, through three consecutive harvesting periods and fields unveiled that the harvest year, followed by field and the interaction of harvest × field, accounted for the highest impact on the berry’s physicochemical parameters
Summary
According to the Food and Agriculture Organization of the United Nations (FAO), there are over 50,000 edible plants; only 60% of human energy intake comes from just three plant species: rice, maize, and wheat. This trend is expected to increase by 33% until 2050 [1]. It is important to promote a circular economy strategy focusing on positive society-wide benefits This concept entails serious concerns about the rational and integral use of natural resources, as much as possible, contributing to the reduction in byproducts. Food processing generates a large amount of byproducts that represent ca. 33% of total food products, and a multitude of projects have been developed to valorize this low-cost source of bioactive compounds [3]
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