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Thirteen species of wild edible plants belonging to 11 botanical families consumed in the traditional Mediterranean diet were evaluated. Sanguisorba minor, Quercus ballota and Sedum sediforme showed the highest hydrophilic total antioxidant activity (H-TAA) and total phenols. Asparagus acutifolius, Allium ampeloprasum, Foeniculum vulgare and Malva sylvestris presented high levels of potassium, Malva and Asparagus are interesting due to their zinc content, and Urtica urens contains a high content of calcium. Sensory analysis indicated that fruits from Q. ballota could be considered very sweet and plants of Crithmum maritimum and Oxalis pes-caprae are very acidic. Moreover, testers highlighted the salty taste of C. maritimum. Mesembryanthemum nodiflorum and Mesembryanthemum cristalinum, the spicy taste of A. ampeloprasum, and the aroma of F. vulgare. Our results indicate that increased consumption of the investigated plant species could provide health benefits. Moreover, due to their sensorial properties, they could be used as new ingredients to improve the diversity in modern diet and highly creative cuisine.

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Some parameters related to nutritive and functional properties were evaluated in date fruit from seven date palms from the Elche grove along the maturation process, in order to obtain information about differences due to phenotypic variability. Results showed that sugar and organic acid concentration were different depending on date palm, the highest levels being reached at 100% Rutab stage, with glucose and fructose as the predominant sugars and malic acid as the major organic acid. Hydrophilic total antioxidant activity (HTAA) was high and correlated to phenolic content, with maxima levels being found at early, medium or late Khalal stages, depending on date palm. In addition, significant differences were found in both, phenolic concentration and HTAA among date palm and maturation stages, while lipophilic total antioxidant activity (LTAA) was very low, without changes along maturation and not correlated to HTAA. Then, date fruit from Elche grove could serve as a good source of natural antioxidant and it would be advisable to consume them at medium or late Khalal stages, in order to achieve the maxima nutritional (high concentration of sugars and organic acids), organoleptic (appropriated firmness levels, yellow or red color and low astringency) and functional properties with benefits to human health.

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Physico-chemical and physiological changes during development and ripening of five loquat cultivars ( Eriobotrya japonica Lindl., cv. Algerie, Cardona, Golden, Magdall and Peluche) were determined. Fruit growth showed a sigmoid curve in all loquat cultivars. A good relationship between duration of fast growth phase and fruit size was found. In addition, a positive correlation was also established between seed number and fruit size, and between seed weight and both fruit and flesh weight. Colour changes, sugar content increase and the decrease in fruit firmness and organic acids started simultaneously when loquat fruits were in the phase of fast growth, and at about 70-80% of their final weight. These physico-chemical changes related to fruit ripening coincided with an increase in both ethylene production rate and free and total 1-aminocyclopropane-1 -carboxylic acid (ACC) content in the flesh. In addition, a small respiration peak associated with ripening was also detected. These results indicated that loquat fruits of all five studied cultivars showed a pattern of ripening in the tree that could be classified as climacteric, with relatively low ethylene production evolving at an early phase of fruit development.

K(+) acquisition by Arabidopsis roots is mainly mediated by the high-affinity K(+) transporter AtHAK5 and the inward-rectifier K(+) channel AtAKT1. This model is probably universal to plants. Mutant plants lacking these two systems (athak5,atakt1) take up K(+) and grow when the external K(+) concentration is above a certain level, indicating that an additional transport system may compensate for the absence of AtHAK5 and AtAKT1. Here we describe that this alternative system is essential for providing sufficient K(+) to sustain growth of athak5,atakt1 plants. This system is especially sensitive to Ca(2+), Mg(2+), Ba(2+) and La(3+), it transports Cs(+) and its activity is reduced by cyclic nucleotides. These results suggest that a Ca(2+)-permeable voltage-independent non-selective cation channel, probably belonging to the cyclic nucleotide gated channel (CNGC) family, may provide the pathway for K(+) uptake in athak5,atakt1 plants. The genes encoding the two members of the CNGC family that have been described as mediating root K(+) uptake, AtCNGC3 and AtCNGC10, are not up-regulated in athak5,atakt1 plants, excluding overexpression of these genes as a compensatory mechanism. On the other hand, an increased driving force for K(+) in athak5,atakt1 plants due to a hyperpolarization of the membrane potential of its root cells is also discarded. The identification of this unknown system may provide tools to improve plant K(+) nutrition in conditions where AtAKT1 functionality is reduced, such as under salinity. In addition, this system may constitute an important pathway for accumulation of toxic cations such as Cs(+) or radiocesium ((137)Cs(+)), and could play a role in phytoremediation.

Saline conditions affect nitrogen (N) assimilation of higher plants. To study the effect of salinity and N source on growth and N uptake in wheat (Triticum aestivum L.), plants were grown in a growth chamber under controlled conditions. The nutrient solution contained 4 mM N, applied as either calcium nitrate [Ca(NO 3 ) 2 ] or ammonium sulfate [(NH 4 ) 2 SO 4 ], or a mixture of both, and the salinity treatments consisted in two levels of sodium chloride (NaCl) (1 and 60 mM). Salinity significantly reduced shoot and root growth and the effect of the N source was dependent on which salinity treatment was applied. Salinity decreased the net uptake rate of nitrate (NO 3 ) and NO 3 +ammonium (NH 4 ), but had little effect on NH 4 uptake when this nutrient was applied alone. Dark conditions affected NO 3 uptake to a greater extent than NH 4 uptake. The best N source for wheat growth was a mixture of NO 3 and NH 4 , especially under saline conditions or periods of low irradiance. 793