Nutrient availability affects the polar lipidome of Halimione portulacoides leaves cultured in hydroponics

Abstract

Halophytes are increasingly regarded as suitable extractive species and co-products for coastal Integrated Multi-Trophic Aquaculture (IMTA) and studying their lipidome is a valid means towards their economic valorization. Halimione portulacoides (L.) Aellen edible leaves are rich in functional lipids with nutraceutical and pharmaceutical relevance and the present study aimed to investigate the extent to which its lipidome remains unchanged under a range of dissolved inorganic nitrogen (N) and phosphorus (P) concentrations typical of aquaculture effluents. Lipidomics analysis, done by hydrophilic interaction liquid chromatography coupled to high resolution mass spectrometry, identified 175 lipid species in the lipid extract of leaves: 140 phospholipids (PLs) and 35 glycolipids (GLs). Plants irrigated with a saline solution with 20-100 mg DIN-N L −1 and 3-15.5 mg DIP-P L −1 under a 1-week hydraulic retention time displayed a relatively stable lipidome. At lower concentrations (6 mg DIN-N L −1 and 0.8 mg DIP-P L −1), plants exhibited less PLs and GLs per unit of leaves dry weight and the GLs fraction of the lipidome changed significantly. This study reveals the importance of analyzing the lipidomic profile of halophytes under different nutritional regimens in order to establish nutrient-limitation thresholds and assure production conditions that deliver a final product with a consistent lipid profile.

Biological and Agronomic Traits of the Main Halophytes Widespread in the Mediterranean Region as Potential New Vegetable Crops

“…The halophytes most studied in hydroponics and aquaponics are the following: Salicornia dolichostachya [69], S. perennans [70,71], S. ramosissima [69,72], S. bigelovii [73], Sarcocornia neei [74,75], Halimione portulacoides [9,76,77], and Portulaca oleracea [78][79][80][81][82]. The crop yield observed in some halophytic species grown in soil-less culture is shown in Table 2, along with other information on growing conditions.…”

LED Lighting and High-Density Planting Enhance the Cost-Efficiency of Halimione Portulacoides Extraction Units for Integrated Aquaculture

“…This paper focuses on the species Halimione portulacoides (L.) Aellen (a.k.a. sea purslane), an edible halophyte relatively widespread throughout European and Mediterranean saltmarshes with traditional human uses [15] whose aquaculture and nutritional potential has only recently been scientifically explored [16][17][18][19][20][21]. These first studies showed that H. portulacoides has one of the highest productivity rates among studied halophytes in saline hydroponic conditions and can contribute to the substantial removal of dissolved inorganic N and P, up to a rate of approximately 4.0 mg N g −1 and 0.4 mg P g −1 [16].…”

Sea Purslane as an Emerging Food Crop: Nutritional and Biological Studies

“…On the other hand, the loss of agrobiodiversity has been an incentive to the introduction in agrosystems of innovative crops with high-value biochemical composition and adaptability to climate change and soil salinities. In this context, halophyte plants are extremely adapted to salt marsh ecosystems due to their physiological and ecological characteristics (support at least 11.7 g L −1 of NaCl), allowing them to live and grow in places with very high salt concentrations, where most plants are unable to survive [1,3]. Furthermore, the leaves of some halophyte plants are rich in bioactive molecules, such as lipophilic compounds and phenols, including flavonoids [3,4].…”

“…In this context, halophyte plants are extremely adapted to salt marsh ecosystems due to their physiological and ecological characteristics (support at least 11.7 g L −1 of NaCl), allowing them to live and grow in places with very high salt concentrations, where most plants are unable to survive [1,3]. Furthermore, the leaves of some halophyte plants are rich in bioactive molecules, such as lipophilic compounds and phenols, including flavonoids [3,4]. Hence, the scientific community has tried to understand the importance of halophyte plants for human consumption, creating a market-positioning strategy as added-value components for the pharmaceutical and nutraceutical industries and also for the gastronomic area through the improvement of foods' organoleptic properties [3,5].…”

“…Furthermore, the leaves of some halophyte plants are rich in bioactive molecules, such as lipophilic compounds and phenols, including flavonoids [3,4]. Hence, the scientific community has tried to understand the importance of halophyte plants for human consumption, creating a market-positioning strategy as added-value components for the pharmaceutical and nutraceutical industries and also for the gastronomic area through the improvement of foods' organoleptic properties [3,5].…”