Assessment of the Nutritional and Medicinal Potential of Tubers from Hairy Stork’s-Bill (Erodium crassifolium L ’Hér), a Wild Plant Species Inhabiting Arid Southeast Mediterranean Regions

Abstract

Emerging needs for diversifying human diet and to explore novel therapeutic procedures have led to increasing attempts to retrieve traditional nourishments and recruit beneficial wild plant species. Species of the genus Erodium (Geraniaceae) harbor medicinal indications and substances known from folklore and scientific research. Hairy stork’s bill (Erodium crassifolium L’Hér), is a small hemicryptophyte that inhabits arid southeast Mediterranean regions. E. crassifolium is among the very few Geraniaceae species known to produce tubers. Traditional knowledge holds that the tubers are edible and used by Bedouin tribes. However, no scientific information was found regarding nutrition or medicinal properties of these tubers. The objectives of our project are to unravel potential nutritional and medicinal benefits of the tubers, conduct initial steps towards domestication and develop agricultural practices enhancing E. crassifolium tuber yield and quality. Tubers show high water content (90%), low caloric value (23 Kcal 100−1 g) and considerable contents of minerals and vitamins. In addition, the tubers contain significant amounts of catechins and epigallocatechin, polyphenolic compounds known for their antioxidative, anti-inflammatory and antiproliferative activities. Furthermore, in vitro experiments demonstrated significant anti-inflammatory effects on human cell cultures. E. crassifolium is highly responsive to environmental changes; fertigation (700 mm) increased tuber yield by 10-fold, compared to simulated wild conditions (50–200 mm). These results indicate a significant potential of E. crassifolium becoming a valuable crop species. Therefore, there is a need for continued efforts in domestication, including ecotype selection, breeding, development of suitable agricultural practices and further exploration of its medicinal benefits.

Plant Biodiversity and Genetic Resources Matter!

“…Examples of conservation activities that impact on the use of the genetic resources that have been covered in this Special Issue include the following: easy access to genetic resources increases the capacity of breeders to respond to climate change and the availability of appropriate technologies [41]; access to traditional knowledge on the use of wild plant species [27]; a systematic association-mapping of wheat varieties with SNP markers was successfully used to associate adult plant stripe rust resistance with specific rust races, and results can be used in marker-assisted selection [29]; the analysis of a local genetic panel of manna ash with a continental dataset allowed conclusions on the presence of a possible glacial refuge, and thus facilitates the collecting and use of more genetic diversity [38]; the systematic characterization of ancient grape germplasm in Cyprus allowed the discovery of so far unnoticed genetic diversity [35]; literature searches and conducting field surveys allowed the identification of unknown wild food plants in Kenya [20]; fact sheets promoted the use of traditional food plants in the South Pacific [26]; the exploitation of the local genetic diversity of traditional pea landraces in Greece is fundamental for conservation practices and crop improvement through breeding strategies [32]; the evaluation of maize landrace accessions under heat and drought stresses resulted in invaluable sources of genes/alleles for adaptation breeding [30]; the review of recent efforts that build evidence of the importance of wild food plants in selected countries, while providing examples of cross-sectoral cooperation and multi-stakeholder approaches, contributes to enhancing their sustainable use [19]; the advances in conventional and molecular breeding for the drought tolerance of conventional staple crops, and the introduction of drought-tolerant neglected and underutilized species into existing production systems has the potential to enhance the resilience of agricultural production under conditions of water scarcity [40]; the utilization of advanced phenotyping tools, coupled with high-throughput genotyping, will accelerate the use of genetic resources and fast-track the development of more resilient food crops for the future [24]; and genomics-assisted breeding is increasingly facilitating the introgression of favorable genes and quantitative trait loci from wild species into cultigens, and will lead to a wider use of crop wild relatives in the development of resilient cultivars [25].…”

“…Several papers highlight the importance of vegetables as well as traditional, underutilized and wild food plants for food and nutrition security in general [19,25], in pilot studies in Kenya [20], and on atolls in the South Pacific [26], including specific crops, such as Hairy Stork's Bill (Erodium crassifolium) [27], and the sister of the common pomegranate (Punica protopunica), the latter also having interesting medicinal properties [28]. A number of papers focus on the genetic diversity of specific crops or specific traits in a range of food crops for the benefit of plant breeding, such as genome-wide association mapping for stripe rust resistance in spring wheat [29], diversity studies for drought and heat stress in maize landraces [30], nitrogen fixation and water use efficiency in common bean landraces and cultivars in Honduras [31], species identification of Katsouni pea on Greek Islands [32], wild potato germplasm evaluation for starch content and nitrogen utilization efficiency [33], diversity, population structure and marker-trait association for 100-seed weight in a safflower (Carthamus tinctorius) germplasm panel [34], the composition of Cypriot grapevine varieties [35], species assignment, genetic diversity and phylogeographic relationships of wild germplasm of macadamia [36], genetic diversity and population structure of Rhododendron rex subsp.…”

First Steps to Domesticate Hairy Stork’s-Bill (Erodium crassifolium) as a Commercial Pharmaceutical Crop for Arid Regions

“…Germination begins after the first effective rain event, and an early vegetative phase occurs, forming typical rosette leaves. During spring, further vegetative and reproductive growth waves occur, the intensity and size of which depend on water availability [10]. Hairy stork's bill is among the few plants of the Geraniaceae family to produce tubers.…”

“…HSB tubers have a light sweet taste, and their best quality is in late winter or early spring, when they are whitish in color [8]. While their culinary appeal is somewhat dull, recent studies in our labs have demonstrated that HSB tubers harbor significant pharmaceutical potential [10,11]. Electrochemical analysis of the water-soluble extract from HSB tubers revealed significant reducing power and identified at least six groups of antioxidants (data not shown).…”

“…Electrochemical analysis of the water-soluble extract from HSB tubers revealed significant reducing power and identified at least six groups of antioxidants (data not shown). Fractionation of the tubers′ ethanolic extract (EE) and subsequent in-vitro evaluations of possible anti-inflammatory capacities revealed significant activity in fractions F3 and F4, as well as in the original EE and the pooled fractions, PF [10,11]. Biochemical analyses showed that F4 comprised mainly epigallocatechin, trans-and cis-catechin, and gallic acid, all of which are known for their robust bioactive capacities, including anti-inflammatory activity [12][13][14][15][16][17][18].…”