Italy's Solento region could become a center for sea fennel seed production

Fennel

Nuts & Seeds

Vegetables

Italy

Innovation & Technology

Published Feb 22, 2024

Tridge summary

Researchers from the University of Salento and Aldo Moro University of Bari have discovered that the 'sea fennel' Crithmum maritimum, a wild halophyte found on the Salento coast, Italy, has high antioxidant capacity and is rich in mineral elements. The sea fennel seeds also have high germination rates and contain beneficial volatile organic compounds (VOCs) like D-limonene and γ-terpinene, which have various applications in food production, medicine, and as insecticides. This suggests that the Salento sea fennel could be a potential candidate for commercial domestication. The findings have been published in the journal Horticulturae 2024 and can be accessed on www.mdpi.com and AgroXXI.ru.

Disclaimer: The above summary was generated by a state-of-the-art LLM model and is intended for informational purposes only. It is recommended that readers refer to the original article for more context.

Original content

Wild halophytes have been traditionally used since ancient times in various fields. In recent years, growing interest in these plants has been driven by the identification of many metabolites that have health and nutritional properties. Thus, a number of studies are devoted to the biology and origin of the “sea fennel” Crithmum maritimum, cultivation and benefits for human nutrition. Traditionally, this plant was included in the Mediterranean diet, in addition to some wild vegetables, as evidenced by ethnobotanical studies. Sea fennel, a member of the Apiacae family, is a perennial halophyte that grows on rocky sea cliffs and less commonly on sands and gravels. It has a very wide distribution, occurring along the European Atlantic coast, the Mediterranean and Black Sea coasts and in North-West Africa, where plants are exposed to several abiotic stresses such as soil salinity and drought. In response, C. maritimum has evolved morphological, physiological and biochemical adaptations ...

Source: Agroxxi