Soilless Cultivated Halophyte Plants: Volatile, Nutritional, Phytochemical, and Biological Differences

Abstract

The use of halophyte plants appears as a potential solution for degraded soil, food safety, freshwater scarcity, and coastal area utilization. These plants have been considered an alternative crop soilless agriculture for sustainable use of natural resources. There are few studies carried out with cultivated halophytes using a soilless cultivation system (SCS) that report their nutraceutical value, as well as their benefits on human health. The objective of this study was to evaluate and correlate the nutritional composition, volatile profile, phytochemical content, and biological activities of seven halophyte species cultivated using a SCS (Disphyma crassifolium L., Crithmum maritimum L., Inula crithmoides L., Mesembryanthemum crystallinum L., Mesembryanthemum nodiflorum L., Salicornia ramosissima J. Woods, and Sarcocornia fruticosa (Mill.) A. J. Scott.). Among these species, results showed that S. fruticosa had a higher content in protein (4.44 g/100 g FW), ash (5.70 g/100 g FW), salt (2.80 g/100 g FW), chloride (4.84 g/100 g FW), minerals (Na, K, Fe, Mg, Mn, Zn, Cu), total phenolics (0.33 mg GAE/g FW), and antioxidant activity (8.17 µmol TEAC/g FW). Regarding the phenolic classes, S. fruticosa and M. nodiflorum were predominant in the flavonoids, while M. crystallinum, C. maritimum, and S. ramosissima were in the phenolic acids. Moreover, S. fruticosa, S. ramosissima, M. nodiflorum, M. crystallinum, and I. crithmoides showed ACE-inhibitory activity, an important target control for hypertension. Concerning the volatile profile, C. maritimum, I. crithmoides, and D. crassifolium were abundant in terpenes and esters, while M. nodiflorum, S. fruticosa, and M. crystallinum were richer in alcohols and aldehydes, and S. ramosissima was richer in aldehydes. Considering the environmental and sustainable roles of cultivated halophytes using a SCS, these results indicate that these species could be considered an alternative to conventional table salt, due to their added nutritional and phytochemical composition, with potential contribution for the antioxidant and anti-hypertensive effects.

Exploring the Potential of Halophyte Biomass for Green Biorefinery Applications

“…These compounds have various biological activities and functionalities, and they often contribute to the health benefits of plant extracts, such as antioxidant and anti-inflammatory effects, antimicrobial and anti-viral properties, and potential protective effects against cardiovascular diseases, neurogenerative diseases, and cancer. [41,53,[64][65][66][67][68][69][70][71][72]54,[56][57][58][59][60][61]63]. Bioactive compounds found in halophytes were reviewed in Paper II and discussed in detail in Section 4.1.…”

“…Salicornia iranica), and Salicornia ramosissima, which have shown uptake and translocation of cadmium, lead, and nickel [82][83][84]. However, plants with accumulated toxins and contaminants cause a food safety risk if consumed [70,84]; thus, phytoremediation limits the potential use of cultivated biomass.…”