Towards the Sustainable Exploitation of Salt-Tolerant Plants: Nutritional Characterisation, Phenolics Composition, and Potential Contaminants Analysis of Salicornia ramosissima and Sarcocornia perennis alpini.

Content Provider	Europe PMC
Author	Lopes, Maria Silva, Ana Sanches Séndon, Raquel Barbosa-Pereira, Letricia Cavaleiro, Carlos Ramos, Fernando
Editor	Nardini, Mirella
Copyright Year	2023
Abstract	Increasing soil salinisation represents a serious threat to food security, and therefore the exploitation of high-yielding halophytes, such as Salicornia and Sarcocornia, needs to be considered not merely in arid regions but worldwide. In this study, Salicornia ramosissima and Sarcocornia perennis alpini were evaluated for nutrients, bioactive compounds, antioxidant capacity, and contaminants. Both were shown to be nutritionally relevant, exhibiting notable levels of crude fibre and ash, i.e., 11.26-15.34 and 39.46-40.41% dry weight (dw), respectively, and the major minerals were Na, K, and Mg. Total phenolics thereof were 67.05 and 38.20 mg of gallic acid equivalents/g extract dw, respectively, mainly p-coumaric acid and quercetin. Both species displayed antioxidant capacity, but S. ramossima was prominent in both the DPPH and ß-carotene bleaching assays. Aflatoxin B1 was detected in S. ramosissima, at 5.21 µg/Kg dw, which may pose a health threat. The Cd and Pb levels in both were low, but the 0.01 mg/Kg Hg in S. perennis alpini met the maximum legal limit established for marine species including algae. Both species exhibit high potential for use in the agro-food, cosmetics, and pharmaceutical sectors, but specific regulations and careful cultivation strategies need to be implemented, in order to minimise contamination risks by mycotoxins and heavy metals.
Journal	Molecules
Volume Number	28
DOI	10.3390/molecules28062726
PubMed Central reference number	PMC10059647
Issue Number	6
PubMed reference number	36985696
e-ISSN	14203049
Language	English
Publisher	Molecular Diversity Preservation International (MDPI)
Publisher Date	2023-03-17
Access Restriction	Open
Subject Keyword	halophytes Salicornia ramosissima Sarcocornia perennis alpini nutrients minerals phenolic compounds antioxidants mycotoxins heavy metals food security food safety
Content Type	Text
Resource Type	Article
Subject	Physical and Theoretical Chemistry Medicine Chemistry Drug Discovery Pharmaceutical Science Analytical Chemistry Molecular Medicine Organic Chemistry