Lipophilic antioxidants in edible weeds from agricultural areas

Authors : Helena ŠIRCELJ, Maja MIKULICPETKOVSEK, Robert VEBERIČ, Metka HUDINA, Ana SLATNAR

Pages : 1-10

View : 17 | Download : 15

Publication Date : 2018-02-01

Article Type : Research Paper

Abstract :Abstract: The present paper reports the contents of individual lipophilic antioxidants in fourteen species of edible common agricultural weeds, typical of agricultural areas such as fields and orchards. Young edible green aboveground parts of weeds were analyzed for their chlorophyll, carotenoid, and tocopherol qualitative profiles and contents. To the best of our knowledge, this is the first report on the complete lipophilic antioxidant composition of the edible weeds examined in this study. The results revealed that all examined leafy plant species are good sources of lipophilic antioxidants, the richest source being Urtica dioica insert ignore into journalissuearticles values(255.64 mg 100 g − 1 ` role=`presentation`> g − 1 g − 1 g^{-1} fwt);, followed by Cardamine hirsuta insert ignore into journalissuearticles values(159.85 mg 100 g − 1 ` role=`presentation`> g − 1 g − 1 g^{-1} fwt);, Cichorium intybus insert ignore into journalissuearticles values(150.87 mg 100 g − 1 ` role=`presentation`> g − 1 g − 1 g^{-1} fwt);, Aegopodium podagraria insert ignore into journalissuearticles values(146.07 mg 100 g − 1 ` role=`presentation`> g − 1 g − 1 g^{-1} fwt);, Taraxacum officinale insert ignore into journalissuearticles values(123.35 mg 100 g − 1 ` role=`presentation`> g − 1 g − 1 g^{-1} fwt);, and Capsella bursa-pastoris insert ignore into journalissuearticles values(117.59 mg 100 g − 1 ` role=`presentation`> g − 1 g − 1 g^{-1} fwt);, all with higher or similar contents compared to spinach insert ignore into journalissuearticles values(138.72 mg 100 g − 1 ` role=`presentation`> g − 1 g − 1 g^{-1} fwt);, proving the value of these weeds for nutrition. The shoot vegetable Humulus lupulus had the lowest lipophilic antioxidant content insert ignore into journalissuearticles values(22.98 mg 100 g − 1 ` role=`presentation`> g − 1 g − 1 g^{-1} fwt);, but this was still 3.8-fold higher than that of cultivated lettuce. Although all weeds examined in our study are valuable sources of health-promoting lipophilic antioxidants, comparison with cultivated spinach revealed that the general belief that all wild edible greens are richer in lipophilic antioxidants than cultivated leafy vegetables is not valid.
Keywords : Edible weeds, wild vegetables, chlorophyll, carotenoid, tocopherol, lipophilic antioxidant