NUTRITIONAL AND FUNCTIONAL CHARACTERIZATION OF WILD AND CULTIVATED Sarcocornia neei GROWN IN CHILE

Abstract

Sarcocornia neei is a halophyte that grows on the coast of the Valparaiso Region of Chile. Studies related to its nutritional and functional value under wild and cultivated conditions are not available. Thus, in this study, a nutritional (complete proximal, mineral and dietary fiber analysis) and functional characterization (total phenolics, β-carotene, hydrophilic and lipophilic antioxidant activity (HAA and LAA) and ascorbic acid) were performed for wild and cultivated plants. Wild plants displayed higher amounts of compounds involved in stress defense mechanisms such as total phenolics, proteins, dietary fiber and ash. The mineral analysis revealed that Na + and Cl -are the main ions accumulated in wild and cultivated Sarcocornia neei that are present in significantly higher amounts in the cultivated plants. The functional characterization revealed higher amounts of dietary fiber, total phenolics and HAA in wild plants than in cultivated plants. Similar contents of β-carotene, LAA and ascorbic acid were found for wild and cultivated plants. The results from this study provide information on the potential of Sarcocornia neei to be consumed as a leafy green vegetable with important amounts of main nutrients and functional metabolites.

Efficiency ofSalicornia neeito treat aquaculture effluent from a hypersaline and artificial wetland

“…Nitrogen bioaccumulation was not determined empirically in this study, but we derived it from Riquelme et al [22], a previous study performed by our research group. Riquelme et al [22] show that the total of N fixed in the aerial part of S. neei corresponds to 1.76 ± 0.08 g per 100 g of fresh weight. Similar results were obtained in S. brachiata by Rathore et al [39] from India.…”

“…For example, some species of the genus Spartina show a higher affinity for NH 4 + consumption [18,19], while others like Juncus maritimus, have a marked preference for NO 3 -, even in substrates that contained high availability of NH 4 + [20]. Also, if the plants are grown in lysimeters or wetland, the interaction with soil, microorganism and plant have a higher potential to remove nitrogen compounds and produce biomass, which can be used as animal feed or human food [21,22], and in the production of biofuels or by-products of interest to the pharmaceutical industry [2,5,15,23,24], among others. Additionally, it has been demonstrated that these systems are also efficient in removing residual phosphates from RASs [2,15,23,[25][26][27].…”

“…S. neei is used as a gourmet food and is a type of emerging crop in the coastal zone of Chile. This plant has been described as containing high amounts of nutrients and important functional metabolites [22]. Additionally, physiological studies have been performed to observe germination patterns [29] and changes in the concentration of metabolites and antioxidants when exposed to different salinity gradients [30].…”

Nutritional and Functional Potential of Selliera radicans Cav., a Chilean Native Halophyte

“…The protein content in Selliera radicans is within this range and comparable to vegetables consumed daily. 11,[40][41][42] Macro and micronutrients contents of halophytes depend on several factors, such as the plant species, stage of growth, season, and others. [41][42] Content of macro and micronutrients in cultivated Selliera radicans leaves are in Table 2 and all these values are lower than cultivated S. neei.…”

“…11,[40][41][42] Macro and micronutrients contents of halophytes depend on several factors, such as the plant species, stage of growth, season, and others. [41][42] Content of macro and micronutrients in cultivated Selliera radicans leaves are in Table 2 and all these values are lower than cultivated S. neei. 41 For instance, in 100 g of fresh S. neei plants collected in coastal marsh and irrigated with sea water there were 8.07 g of Na, 41 while in S. radicans there were only 0.66 g of Na, irrigated with tap water containing 17 mg L -1 sodium.…”