Caracterização química e avaliação da atividade biológica das plantas silvestres Umbilicus rupestris e Raphanus raphanistrum

Abstract

The inclusion of edible wild plants on the human diet continues to be an ordinary practice, not only because of its use in rural areas as well due to an increasing tendency of searching for new flavours. In a general way, these plants have a large nutritional value, and they can also be a source of vitamins, antioxidants and minerals. For this reason, many recent studies have focused on the nutritional assessment and bioactive compounds characterization of several wild plants. However, for some edible wild species, the available information remains scarce. Therefore, this work aimed studying two plants from portugal, namely raphanus raphanistrum l. e umbilicus rupestris (salisb.) Dandy, with respect to their nutritional composition and bioactive potential for the purpose of stimulate their inclusion in contemporary diets. Both plants had a high content of moisture, followed by the carbohydrates, proteins and lipids to a lower extent. The two can be considered suitable for human consumption, with potential for incorporation in diets as a source of nutrients and bioactive compounds, namely fatty acids, in particular emphasis on ómega-3, vitamin e (tocopherols), organic acids and phenolic compounds, more specifically flavonoids. Regarding the bioactivities, both species demonstrated antioxidant potential in different methodologies tested, namely dpph scavenging activity, reducing power, β- carotene and tbars. However, the extracts did not reveal cytotoxic and antiinflammatory activity at the concentrations tested. As regards microbial activity, the extracts of both plants showed action on gram-positive and gram-negative bacteria, evidencing a broad spectrum of action and being able to inhibit the growth of some microorganisms normally involved in food-borne disease.