DNA barcoding to promote social awareness and identity of neglected, underutilized plant species having valuable nutritional properties

Campanaro, Ausilia; Tommasi, Nicola; Guzzetti, Lorenzo; Galimberti, Andrea; Bruni, Ilaria; Labra, Massimo

doi:10.1016/j.foodres.2018.07.031

Cited by 20 publications

(22 citation statements)

References 93 publications

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“…In this context, the team of SASS decided to support the model of small-and medium-holder farms at both the rural and urban level to study the role of conservation agriculture [52] strategies in preserving natural resources (soil and water) and biodiversity. Moreover, the SASS team also evaluated the role of minor local crops (also known as Neglected and Underutilized Species-NUS [53]) and their intercropping with staple crops [54] to enhance local productivity.…”

Section: Framing the "Sass" Research Agendamentioning

confidence: 99%

“…Similarly, during the planning of SASS field activities, the researchers based their decisions on a vision of contrast between intensive agriculture of staple crops and the cultivation of local indigenous plants (NUS) [53], but soon after the first field assessments and the successive RRI Peer Connection meeting, the SASS team found that these two systems coexist in African agricultural realities. The project then focused on identifying strategies to enhance local indigenous species together with staples, such as maize.…”

Section: The Efficacy Of Rri Tools To Improve the Sass Projectmentioning

confidence: 99%

“…This means that NUS still represent a reality for self-consumption and are not a source of income for the farmers. Finally, with regard to the consumption segment of the food supply chain, many NUS are rich in nutrients [53,59] and therefore represent an important source for local diet diversification. All these considerations were taken into account during the RRI meeting of the project and contributed to redirecting some activities during the first 12-18 months since the project activities began (Figure 4).…”

Section: The Efficacy Of Rri Tools To Improve the Sass Projectmentioning

confidence: 99%

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Experimenting with RRI tools to Drive Sustainable Agri-Food Research: The SASS Case Study from Sub-Saharan Africa

et al. 2020

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The need to develop experimental tools for a responsible research and innovation (RRI) framework is relevant for managing research agendas and policy making that seriously take into account the complex conditions of innovation development (linked to multidisciplinarity and interaction processes) between the researchers and their fieldwork activities. The adoption of an RRI framework is even more important for multidisciplinary and complex issues, such as the agri-food system. In this context, the SASS (Sustainable Agri-food Systems for Sustainable Development (SASS) project represents a good example for verifying the application of the RRI strategy in a varied research group committed to the development of sustainable agri-food systems in Sub-Saharan Africa. The project, which involves more than 50 researchers from different fields of knowledge and theoretical backgrounds, showed the importance of the processes of reflection, re-driving, and convergence in the definition of research objectives and strategies. This process started by experimenting with new dedicated RRI tools in order to allow interactions between the researchers, including exchanging their experience in data collection and theoretical reflection development. With respect to this analysis, it was interesting to analyze how the RRI tools and strategies have been activated between researchers and different stakeholders, generating reflections capable of re-adapting the results towards shared and accessible innovation for the extended society. Following the discussion based on the description of the SASS-RRI agenda tools and following an internal verification given from an RRI-based web survey, this contribution provides new insights, in terms of tools and strategies, to promote and refine RRI approaches. This work underlines how RRI methods have promoted internal and external interactions to connect the research objectives towards a model of open innovation.

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Section: Framing the "Sass" Research Agendamentioning

confidence: 99%

Section: The Efficacy Of Rri Tools To Improve the Sass Projectmentioning

confidence: 99%

Section: The Efficacy Of Rri Tools To Improve the Sass Projectmentioning

confidence: 99%

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Experimenting with RRI tools to Drive Sustainable Agri-Food Research: The SASS Case Study from Sub-Saharan Africa

et al. 2020

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“…Finally, in terms of protein and amino acids, our analyses confirm that cowpea is an important source of these nutritional components and the growing condition did not affect their amount. Considering that in the Mediterranean area, especially in the Eastern and African sides, diets are deficient in terms of protein and amino acid intake [16,46] and despite the change in food regimes that lead to a decrease of the intake of animal proteins, we estimate that cowpea could be a great support or even a crucial aliment to compensate these lacks. Moreover, the cowpea amino acidic content is two times higher than the widespread common bean P. vulgaris [16], therefore this species could be a good substitute for the traditional legume crops.…”

Section: Suitability Of V Unguiculata For Mediterranean Camentioning

confidence: 99%

“…In this study, we selected Vigna unguiculata L. Walp (also known as cowpea) to investigate the ability of this species to grow in the Mediterranean region under CA conditions. The species was adequate for such study due to the fact that its beans are rich in proteins and carbohydrates and have relatively low-fat content [16]. Moreover, Vigna unguiculata beans show an aminoacidic pattern that is complementary to that of many foods consumed in the Mediterranean area, such as cereal grains.…”

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Sustainability Perspectives of Vigna unguiculata L. Walp. Cultivation under No Tillage and Water Stress Conditions

Guzzetti

Fiorini

Panzeri

et al. 2019

Plants

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Nowadays, agriculture is facing the great challenge of climate change which puts the productivity of the crops in peril due to unpredictable rain patterns and water shortages, especially in the developing world. Besides productivity, nutritional values of the yields of these crops may also be affected, especially under low mechanization and the low water availability conditions of the developing world. Conservation agriculture (CA) is a topic of emerging interest due to the provision of adequate yields and reduced environmental impact, such as greenhouse gas emissions, by being based on three main principles: minimum soil disturbance (reduced or no tillage), cover crop maintenance, and crop rotation. The aim of this study was to assess the impact of CA management on the growth performance and the nutritional profile of cowpea (Vigna unguiculata L. Walp), a pulse of African origin, commonly known as black eye bean under field conditions. A field experiment was designed to assess the effect of conventional tillage (CT) and no-tillage (NT) combined with the usage of a set of cover crops, coupled to normal and deficient water regimes. Cowpea was revealed to be able to grow and yield comparably at each level of the treatment tested, with a better ability to face water exhaustion under CA management. After a faster initial growth phase in CT plots, the level of adaptability of this legume to NT was such that growth performances improved significantly with respect to CT plots. The flowering rate was higher and earlier in CT conditions, while in NT it was slower but longer-lasting. The leafy photosynthetic rate and the nutritional profile of beans were slightly influenced by tillage management: only total starch content was negatively affected in NT and watered plots while proteins and aminoacids did not show any significant variation. Furthermore, significantly higher carbon and nitrogen concentration occurred in NT soils especially at the topmost (0–5 cm) soil horizon. These findings confirm the capability of CA to enrich soil superficial horizons and highlight that cowpea is a suitable crop to be grown under sustainable CA management. This practice could be pivotal to preserve soils and to save agronomical costs without losing a panel of nutrients that are important to the human diet. Due to its great protein and aminoacidic composition, V. unguiculata is a good candidate for further cultivation in regions of the word facing deficiencies in the intake of such nutrients, such as the Mediterranean basins and Sub-Saharan countries.

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Vigna unguiculata L. Walp. Leaves as a Source of Phytochemicals of Dietary Interest: Optimization of Ultrasound‐Assisted Extraction and Assessment of Traditional Consumer Habits

Pioltelli,

Sartirana,

Copetta

et al. 2023

Chemistry & Biodiversity

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Vigna unguiculata L. Walp. is an African crop spread worldwide mainly for pulses production. Despite being a neglected and under‐utilized food, cowpea leaves are a rich source of phytochemicals and micronutrients. The aim of the work is to characterize the phytochemical composition of cowpea leaves by an optimized ultrasound‐assisted extraction (USAE) and to compare raw and boiled leaves.A three‐level factorial design (Box‐Behnken) was employed for the optimization of the USAE considering three different parameters (% ethanol, drug‐to‐solvent ratio, and number of cycles). The optimized extracts were characterized by LC‐MS/MS. Finally, leaves were boiled at 100 °C for 30 min to simulate traditional cooking procedures and compared to raw leaves. The best extraction condition was EtOH/H2O 1:2 v/v, drug to solvent ratio 1:47 w/v, and 3 extraction cycles. The phytochemicals identified mainly belong to the family of phenolic acids, flavonoids, terpenoids, and alkaloids. Boiled leaves revealed a significant loss of most phytochemicals and a net decrease of their antioxidant activity compared to the raw ones. The results highlight the potential nutraceutical value of cowpea leaves whilst the impoverishment triggered by traditional consumer habits pushes the need to evaluate alternative cooking procedures helpful in the maintenance of their phytochemical properties.

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DNA barcoding to promote social awareness and identity of neglected, underutilized plant species having valuable nutritional properties

Cited by 20 publications

References 93 publications

Experimenting with RRI tools to Drive Sustainable Agri-Food Research: The SASS Case Study from Sub-Saharan Africa

Experimenting with RRI tools to Drive Sustainable Agri-Food Research: The SASS Case Study from Sub-Saharan Africa

Sustainability Perspectives of Vigna unguiculata L. Walp. Cultivation under No Tillage and Water Stress Conditions

Vigna unguiculata L. Walp. Leaves as a Source of Phytochemicals of Dietary Interest: Optimization of Ultrasound‐Assisted Extraction and Assessment of Traditional Consumer Habits

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