TY - JOUR AU - Disciglio, Grazia AU - Tarantino, Annalisa AU - Frabboni, Laura AU - Gagliardi, Anna AU - Giuliani, Marcella Michela AU - Tarantino, Emanuele AU - Gatta, Giuseppe PY - 2017/12/11 Y2 - 2024/03/29 TI - Qualitative characterisation of cultivated and wild edible plants: Mineral elements, phenols content and antioxidant capacity JF - Italian Journal of Agronomy JA - Ital J Agronomy VL - 12 IS - 4 SE - Original Articles DO - 10.4081/ija.2017.1036 UR - https://www.agronomy.it/agro/article/view/1036 SP - AB - This study investigated the qualitative characteristics of several edible wild herbaceous species, including those most consumed in Foggia Province (southern Italy). Analysis of qualitative characteristics was performed for the edible parts of 11 wild species (<em>Beta vulgaris</em> L., <em>Foeniculum vulgare</em> Miller, <em>Centaurea solstitialis</em> L., <em>Cichorium intybus</em> L., <em>Scolymus hispanicus</em> L., <em>Sonchus oleraceus</em> L., <em>Borago officinalis</em> L., <em>Diplotaxis erucoides</em> L., <em>Diplotaxis tenuifolia</em> (L.) DC, <em>Sinapis arvensis</em> L., <em>Portulaca oleracea</em> L.) and three cultivated species (<em>C. intybus</em>, <em>B. officinalis</em>, <em>D. tenuifolia</em>). The plants were collected from areas in the Foggia countryside, and the edible part of each species was analysed for dry matter, protein, cation and anion contents as well as total phenols and antioxidant activities. Among the cations, calcium was the most differentiated among species, ranging 784 mg kg<sup>–1</sup> fresh weight (Fw) for <em>B. vulgaris</em> to 5886 mg kg<sup>–1</sup> Fw for <em>S. hispanicus</em>. The nitrate contents were also highly variable, from 75 mg kg<sup>–1</sup> Fw for <em>C. intybus</em> to 3874 mg kg<sup>–1</sup> Fw for <em>D. tenuifolia</em>. Total polyphenols ranged from 1054 mg gallic acid equivalents (GAE) mg kg<sup>–1</sup> Fw for <em>C. solstitialis</em> to 3664 mg GAE mg kg<sup>–1</sup> Fw for <em>S. arvensis</em>. Antioxidant activities ranged from 839 mg Trolox equivalents (TE) kg<sup>–1</sup> Fw for <em>B. vulgaris</em> to 5658 mg TE kg<sup>–1</sup> Fw for <em>C. intybus</em>. Significant differences were also noted between wild and cultivated plants in the qualitative parameters. Total polyphenols and antioxidant activity were higher in wild <em>C. intybu</em>s and <em>B. officinalis</em> than in their cultivated counterparts. Multivariate analysis (cluster analysis and linear discriminant analysis) allowed integration of the ANOVA data to determine the qualitative characteristics of the wild species that contribute most to group differences. The results of the present study aims to improve current knowledge about edible wild species as vegetable sources in the Mediterranean diet. ER -