abstract
- Fruits and vegetables are good sources of a large number of antioxidant compounds; moreover, in some Mediterranean areas traditional wild greens are responsible for a significant percentage of total dietary antioxidant intakes. Asparagus acutifolius L. (wild asparagus), Bryonia dioica Jacq. (white bryony) and Tamus communis L. (black bryony) are important examples of those edible wild greens widely consumed. This study aimed to determine the phenolic profile and composition of edible vernal early shoots in spring of those species. The analysis was performed by high performance liquid chromatography coupled to photodiode array detector and mass spectrometry. Wild asparagus and black bryony revealed glycosides of flavonols as main phenolic compounds, while white bryony showed C-glycoslated flavones. Black bryony was the wild green that presented the highest content in phenolic compounds (2197 mg/Kg). Among the eleven flavonols found in this sample, kaempferol glycosides were the main compounds (1759 mg/Kg). In the sample of wild asparagus, quercetin-3-O-rutinoside was the main flavonol found (263 mg/Kg). Five flavones and one flavonol were found in the white bryony sample, being apigenin-6-C-glucoside-7-O-glucoside the major compound (1552 mg/Kg).