Nutritional Composition, Bioactive Compounds, and Volatiles Profile Characterization of Two Edible Undervalued Plants: Portulaca oleracea L. and Porophyllum ruderale (Jacq.) Cass

Abstract

Wild edible plants are an important source of healthy food and have played an important role in traditional Mediterranean diets. In this paper, quality characteristics were typified in Portulaca oleracea L. and Porophyllum ruderale (Jacq.) Cass, undervalued plants inherent to the spring-summer season in the Valencian coastal region. Nutritional composition and bioactive compounds were analyzed and compared between plants in wild and organic cultivation conditions. Proximate analysis was carried out according to Association of Official Analytical Chemists methods. Total antioxidants were measured as 2.2-diphenyl-1-picrylhydrazyl hydrate and total polyphenols content via the Folin–Ciocalteu procedure. The HS-SPME technique was used to characterize the volatiles profile, and the polyphenol profile was evaluated by HPLC. The most important microelement was iron. Total antioxidants ranged from 4392.16 to 7315.00 μmol Trolox·equivalents 100 g−1 fw, and total phenolic content ranged from 99.09 to 391.18 mg gallic acid equivalents·100 g−1 fw. Results show that the content of antioxidants and phenols was higher in wild species than in cultivated ones. The volatiles profile revealed that P. ruderale was rich in monoterpenoids (48.65–55.82%), and fatty alcohols were characteristic in P. oleracea species (16.21–54.18%). The results suggest that both plants could be healthy foods and could have new sustainable agro-ecological potential for the local commercial sector.

Nephroprotective Activity of Papaloquelite (Porophyllum ruderale) in Thioacetamide-Induced Injury Model

“…In this investigation, HEPr was able to stabilize all radical species as well as to reduce the ferric ion to the ferrous state. Regarding DPPH activity, HEPr inhibits this radical in 63.06% and the radical inhibition of DPPH was 1502.40 ± 0.0407 µmol TE/100 g. These values are higher than that reported for an ethanolic extract of the same species (32.6 ± 1.18%, 676.24 ± 0.34 µmol ET/100 g) [40], but lesser than that obtained for wild and cultivated P. ruderale (4645.53 ± 36.2 and 4392.16 ± 27.0 µmol TE/100 g, respectively); however, in this case, fresh leaves were used [20].…”

“…However, it was higher than the total phenol content in fresh leaves of wild and cultivated P. ruderale (3.91 ± 1.41 and 3.162 ± 0.28 mgGAE/g, respectively). The differences in the antioxidant activity and phenolic compounds content in P. ruderale aerial parts may be due to the growing conditions and edaphoclimatic characteristics of the respective geographical areas [20]. For instance, Fukalova et al [20] obtained P. ruderale from the Valencian coast in Spain; while Kato da Silva et al [44] obtained it from Campo Grande, MS, Brazil, and we obtained it from Hidalgo, México.…”

“…The differences in the antioxidant activity and phenolic compounds content in P. ruderale aerial parts may be due to the growing conditions and edaphoclimatic characteristics of the respective geographical areas [20]. For instance, Fukalova et al [20] obtained P. ruderale from the Valencian coast in Spain; while Kato da Silva et al [44] obtained it from Campo Grande, MS, Brazil, and we obtained it from Hidalgo, México. In addition, the HEPr phenol content is higher than obtained for a crude extract of Porophyllum tagetoides leaves (8.54 ± 0.14 mgGAE/g) [45], and for different grape varieties (54.23 ± 0.04-58.48 ± 0.09 GAE/g) [44] (4764 ± 39-11525 ± 886 mg GA/100 g) [46,47].…”

“…The extract did not exhibit a significant reduction in the viability of macrophages compared with the control group, while the positive control (etoposide) showed a significant reduction in the cellular viability at 40 µg/mL (Figure 1). and pesticide industry, due to the large quantities of strong-smelling volatile essential oils [18][19][20][21][22][23].…”

“…Its flowers are numerous, hermaphrodite, with a greenish or purplish corolla, tubular with the presence of long, thin, and curved branches. P. ruderale is a phytogenetic resource of great importance for food and agriculture, it has been consumed in México since pre-Hispanic times [18], and nowadays is consumed either alone or in combination due to its organoleptic and nutritionally properties [19]; in addition, due to its adaptation to environmental conditions, it can be consumed throughout the year [20]. Furthermore, P. ruderalle is used in the perfume and pesticide industry, due to the large quantities of strong-smelling volatile essential oils [18][19][20][21][22][23].…”