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Within the past several years, the content of catechins and procyanidins in several grape cultivars, grown under different agroecological conditions, and in red wines, made using different technological practices, has been studied. Grape seeds contain a higher amount of catechins and procyanidins than cluster stems and grape skins, and the relative amount of these molecules in the different parts of the grape cluster is closely related to the year of production, the site of production and the degree of maturation. The content of catechins and procyanidins in red wines is affected by the length of maceration of grape pomace, by the destemming of grape clusters and by adding supplementary quantities of seeds during fermentation. The amount of catechins and procyanidins in young red wines decreases after the treatment with several fining agents. Experiments carried out by Flanzy and Causeret in 1951(1) first pointed out that wine intake by rats does not produce the same toxic effects as those caused by the intake of spirits or ethanol. These researchers suggested that wine should contain some ethanol antidote, which is absent in the spirit of wine.Several epidemiological inquiries on coronary heart disease, CHD, have shown that, in most developed countries, high intake of saturated fat is positively related to high mortality from CHD (2-5). However, France had a lower-than-expected CHD mortality rate, in spite of high intake of saturated fat (similar to that in Germany, UK, and other central and northern European countries). This fact has been known as the 'French paradox', and may be partially attributed to high wine consumption (3, 5).

In the Mediterranean region, some wild edible species such as Asparagus acutifolius L. are still harvested and even marketed. Considering the great interest of this species, including its recreational, commercial and agronomic uses, we aimed to study its natural supply and its current scale of harvesting. Nearly 50 plants were monitored in two sites of Central Spain. An experimental harvest of 100% of spears was conducted during spring 2008-2009 to estimate spear production per plant and per hectare. Plants were also monitored but not harvested in 2010-2011 at Site 1 to document real gathering practices and its influence on yield. Spear production ranged from 5.0 to 12.8 g per plant and from 4.0 to 8.9 kg ha -1 , reaching the top-ranked values in May (30-60% of total yield). Between-site variations on yield were mainly related to spear number rather than to spear weight, whereas weather conditions influenced annual yields. The percentage of plants harvested by local foragers varied from 26 to 47%. A slight but not significant trend for collecting the largest spears was recorded. According to spear number in harvested (1.8-2.5 spears) and non-harvested plants (1.3-1.5 spears), gathering seemed to promote the growth of new spears, although further research is needed to assess its influence in the long term. Results suggest that foraging is a time-consuming practice, thus social and cultural factors may explain its high appreciation in present times.Additional key words: applied ethnobotany; gathering; non timber forest products; spear yield; wild edible plants. ResumenPotencial de las plantas silvestres comestibles en la región mediterránea: producción y presión recolectora del espárrago triguero (Asparagus acutifolius L.)En la región mediterránea, especies como el espárrago triguero (Asparagus acutifolius L.) siguen siendo recolectadas y a veces incluso vendidas en mercados locales. Dado el interés de esta especie, tanto recreativo como agronómi-co o comercial, en este trabajo se estima su producción natural y su presión recolectora en la actualidad. Para ello se realizó el seguimiento de casi 50 esparragueras silvestres en dos localidades del centro de España. En la primavera de 2008 y 2009 se recolectaron el 100% de los espárragos para estimar el número y peso de espárragos por planta y por hectárea. La presión recolectora se ha estudiado durante los años 2010-2011 en las mismas plantas de una de las dos poblaciones. La producción estimada fue de 5,0-12,8 g por planta y 4,0-8,9 kg ha -1 , alcanzando los valores más altos en mayo (30-60% del rendimiento total). Entre localidades aparecieron mayores diferencias en el número de espárra-gos que en el peso de los mismos. Las condiciones meteorológicas influyeron en los rendimientos anuales. Se observó que el 26-47% de las esparragueras fueron cosechadas por recolectores locales. Se detectó una ligera pero no significativa tendencia a recolectar los espárragos de mayor tamaño. Basándonos en el número de espárragos de las plantas recolectadas (1,8-2,5 espárrag...

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