RESUMEN
The revalorization of natural resources in food production is increasing, and the effect of climate change is negatively affecting the production of conventional crops. In recent years, edible halophytes have received more attention due to their ability to tolerate a wide range of salinities. Thus, the use of halophytes that require less water and are strongly adapted to high-salinity soil and coastal areas can provide sustainable agriculture in certain areas. In addition, there is growing interest in the study of the possibilities that these species offer as foods due to their excellent nutritional profile and antioxidant properties. For that reason, the exploitation of plants adapted to these areas is nowadays even more important than in the past to guarantee food security in arid or semiarid salinized territories. The available data about the nutrients and bioactive compounds composition of many non-cultivated edible vegetables traditionally used in the Mediterranean area, such as Salicornia edible young shoots, are still scarce. With the aim of improving the knowledge on their nutritional value, the present study provides new data about the content of some compounds with biological activity, such as fiber and organic acids, in eight samples of young shoots of S. patula Duval-Jouve gathered in great mainland and coastal salt marshes in Southwest and Central Spain. Results showed that this vegetable can be considered a healthy food and a very good source of dietary fiber (4.81-6.30 g/100 g fw total fiber). Its organic acid profile showed oxalic, malic, citric and succinic acids. Oxalic acid was the major one, with mean values of 0.151-1.691 g/100 g fw. From the results obtained in this study, S. patula shoots could be recommended as an alternative source of fiber for healthy and sustainable diets in the general adult population with no risk of renal disease.
Asunto(s)
Chenopodiaceae , Dieta , Antioxidantes , Verduras , AgriculturaRESUMEN
(1) Background: this study describes bioactive compounds in the following halophytes: Sarcocornia (S. alpini, S. pruinosa, and S. perennis) and Arthrocnemum (A. macrostachyum). The material comes from: coastal marshes in Tinto River, Guadiana River, and some interior provinces from the Iberian Peninsula. (2) Methods: the techniques used were Folin-Ciocalteu, GC-MS, and ESI-MS/MS. (3) Results: Five phenolic acids were found in Sarcocornia: trans-cinnamic, salicylic, veratric, coumaric, and caffeic acids. In addition, in Arthronemum, ferulic acid was also detected. The obtained flavonoids were cyanidin-3-O-arabinoside, luteolin-7-glucoside, dihydroquercetin, and p-coumaroyl-glucoside. They also presented fatty acids, such as palmitic, linoleic, and oleic acids in Sarcocornia, while palmitic, linolenic, and stearic acids were the main fatty acids in A. macrostachyum. (4) Conclusions: the high diversity of the compounds identified confirms the relation between nutritional interest and salt tolerance in halophytes.
RESUMEN
Many halophytes have great nutritional and functional potential, providing chemical compounds with biological properties. Salicornia patula Duval-Jouve is a common euhalophyte from saline Mediterranean territories (Spain, Portugal, France, and Italy). In the present work we quantified for the first time the bioactive compounds in S. patula (total phenolic compounds and fatty acids), from Iberian Peninsula localities: littoral-coastal Tinto River basin areas (southwest Spain, the Huelva province), and mainland continental territories (northwest and central Spain, the Valladolid and Madrid provinces). Five phenolic acids including caffeic, coumaric, veratric, salicylic, and transcinnamic have been found with differences between mainland and coastal saltmarshes. S. patula contain four flavonoids: quercetin-3-O-rutinoside, kaempferol/luteolin, apigenin 7-glucoside, and pelargonidin-3-O-rutinoside. These last two glycosylated compounds are described for the first time in this genus of Chenopodiaceae. The fatty acid profile described in S. patula stems contains palmitic, oleic, and linoleic acids in high concentrations, while stearic and long-chain fatty acids were detected in low amounts. These new findings confirm that S. patula is a valuable source of bioactive compounds from Mediterranean area.
RESUMEN
A complete survey is presented on the inorganic composition of the euhalophyte annual succulent species Salicornia patula (Chenopodiaceae), including materials from the Iberian Peninsula, littoral-coastal Tinto River basin areas (SW Spain: Huelva province), and mainland territories (NW and central Spain: Zamora and Toledo provinces). The aim of this contribution is to characterize the elemental composition of the selected populations and their soils and compare the relationship between them and the macro- and micronutrient plant intake; all these nutrients may allow this species to be considered an edible plant. Using analytical techniques such as ICP-MS (inductively coupled plasma mass spectrometry), our results revealed high values of Na and K followed by Ca, Mg, Fe and Sr in stems. These data demonstrate the importance of annual halophytic species as edible plants and their potential uses in phytoremediation procedures involving soils with certain heavy metals (Pb, Sr, As, Cu, Zn).