Chemical Composition and Nutritional Value of Three Sonchus Species

• Published in: International journal of food science 2022, Vol.2022, p.4181656-9
• Main Authors: de Paula Filho, Galdino Xavier, Barreira, Tibério Fontenele, Pinheiro-Sant’Ana, Helena Maria
• Format: Article
• Language: English
• Subjects: Agriculture; Carbohydrates; Carotenoids; Chemical composition; Chemists; Chromatography; Dietary fiber; Dietary minerals; Fibers; Food; Food plants; Food security; Herbal medicine; High performance liquid chromatography; Inductively coupled plasma; Lipids; Liquid chromatography; Minerals; Moisture content; Norms; Nutritive value; Polyethylene; Population; Proteins; Reagents; Rural areas; Rural populations; Solvents; Sonchus; Sonchus oleraceus; Species; Spectrometry; Vitamin E; Vitamins; Water content
• ISSN: 2356-7015; 2314-5765; 2314-5765
• DOI: 10.1155/2022/4181656

Species of unconventional food plants of the genus Sonchus are widely consumed in rural populations living in the Brazilian Atlantic Forest. This study investigated the nutritional composition of S. oleraceus, S. asper, and S. arvensis species. The centesimal composition was investigated according to the norms of the Association of Official Analytical Chemists, the occurrence and concentration of carotenoids and vitamins through High-Performance Liquid Chromatography, and minerals with the aid of atomic emission spectrometry in inductively coupled plasma. There was no significant difference between the water content found in the three species. However, S. asper showed higher concentrations of lipids (1.32 g/100 g), carbohydrates (0.34 g/100 g), total carotenoids (5.58 mg/100 g), and Ca (96.25 mg/100 g), while S. arvensis had the highest concentration of vitamins E (72.98 μg/100 g) and K (604.85 mg/100 g). S. oleraceus showed higher concentrations of Fe (23.74 mg/100 g). Statistically, fibers and ash presented the same proportions in S. asper and S. arvensis, as well as proteins in S. oleraceus and S. asper species. The availabilities of these vegetables together with their high nutritional value are important factors that contribute to ensuring food security for families that have these species in their diet.