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Salt tolerance of halophytes relies on several strategies, among them, the production of species-specific secondary metabolites. Chemically, a broad variety of secondary compounds of economic interest is present in halophytes. Several of these secondary compounds are restricted to halophytic species or are found in higher concentrations than in glycophytes. For their exploitation, optimal plant cultivation conditions and extraction, fractionation and isolation processes need to be identified. On the one hand, the function of single compounds can be more precisely determined and controlled; on the other hand the mixture of compounds in crude extracts might have synergistic effects. Also, different plant organs and plants in different developmental stages contain highly varying amounts and compositions of secondary compounds. Secondary compounds from halophytes have potential uses in various fields such as pharmacognosy, functional foods, nutraceuticals and technical implementations. Many of the potential applications are still in the research and development phase; some products are already on the market. We describe and evaluate the economic potential of several halophytes such as Salicornia spp. and Crithmum maritimum containing valuable compounds used in different applications.

Salinization of groundwater results in fast dwindling sources of freshwater. Our aim was to develop genetically characterized lines of the salt-tolerant Salicornia (marsh samphire) and Sarcocornia (shrubby Swampfire) as new crop plants. To obtain a large genetic pool, seeds were collected from different countries and ecological conditions. The application of a genetic marker showed a clear distinction between the two genera and between 57 Salicornia taxa. For the determination of optimal cultivation conditions, experiments on germination, seedling establishment and growth to a harvestable size were performed using different Salicornia accessions. Further optimization of cultivation conditions is necessary for commercial use.

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Halophytes, salt-tolerant plants, are a source of valuable secondary metabolites with potential as functional foods or nutraceuticals. We are interested in finding the optimal cultivation conditions for increasing the contents of these valuable compounds. Growth conditions away from the optimum can induce stress resulting in changes in secondary metabolites. We analyzed metabolites with antioxidant capacity in seedlings and plants from different families and habitats grown under different salt concentrations. We show that it is possible to manipulate the antioxidant capacity of plants and seedlings by altering the saline growing environment, the length of time under saline cultivation and the developmental stage.