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

Abstract

Halophyte plants are highly adapted to salt marsh ecosystems due to their physiological and ecological characteristics. Halimione portulacoides (L.) Aellen is one abundant halophyte shrub that belongs to a Chenopodiaceae family and Caryophyllales order and is found on sandy or muddy coastlines and salt marshes. In this study, the leaves of sea purslane (H. portulacoides) grown in Figueira da Foz (Portugal) were characterized at nutritional and mineral concentration. Moreover, different methanolic extracts were obtained from the leaves, and the antioxidant activity was assessed by several methods. From a nutritional point of view, this halophyte plant may be considered a good source of dietary fiber, protein, natural minerals such as calcium, magnesium, manganese, copper, and potassium. The primary sugar found in leaves of sea purslane is maltose, followed by sucrose, glucose, and fructose. Finally, leaves showed a high content of phenolic compounds and considerable antioxidant activity. The novel products butter and pasta enriched with powder dried leaves of H. portulacoides revealed the plant’s potential to be used as a salt substitute and a good alternative to enhance the sensory characteristics of products, with additional health benefits. The nutritional characteristics and the phytochemical value highlight H. portulacoides as a potential candidate crop in saline agriculture and to be used as a new vegetable, especially as a premium food in the novel “salty veggies” market or as a kitchen salt substitute.

Productivity, photosynthetic light-use efficiency, nitrogen metabolism and nutritional quality of C4 halophyte Portulaca oleracea L. grown indoors under different light intensities and durations

“…Special vegetable crops can be cultivated indoors through manipulation of lighting environments to increase the levels of bioactive compounds which can be used as functional foods ( Kelly et al., 2022 ). Purslane used in this study is one of the best candidate crops as it has high content of antioxidants such as proline, ASC and TPC as well as soluble sugars ( Uddin et al., 2012 ; Fernández-Poyatos et al., 2021 ; He et al., 2021 ; Pires et al., 2021 ). Proline which has antioxidant role is greatly accumulated in purslane under abiotic stress, especially osmotic and oxidative stresses ( He et al., 2021 ).…”

Re-Thinking Table Salt Reduction in Bread with Halophyte Plant Solutions

“…Measurements were performed at three points using three slices from each loaf. Total color difference (TCD) was calculated as mentioned in Pires et al [30] to quantify the overall color difference between control sample (reference) and breads with incorporation of S. perennis powder (B50 and B100). The whiteness index (WI) for crumb was determined as referred in Djordjević et.al.…”