Metabolome and Essential Element Analyses of Five Underutilized European Crops Reveal Their Nutritional Properties and Potential to Diversify the European Food System.

ABSTRACT: Background/Objectives: People in the developed world tend to consume food that is rich in calories but lacks sufficient nutrients such as essential minerals, vitamins, and other health-promoting metabolites. At the same time, hunger and malnutrition are still problems in other countries. Therefore, various forms of micronutrient deficiencies and diseases caused by unbalanced nutrition are global issues. Methods: In order to elucidate the beneficial potential of alternative food sources, we employed state-of-the-art UHPLC-MS and ICP-MS technologies to perform comprehensive metabolome and metallome analyses of five edible European plants, some of which are known as underutilized crops: Achillea millefolium, Agastache rugosa, Cercis siliquastrum, Crithmum

SUBMITTER: Angelov M 

PROVIDER: S-EPMC12654173 | biostudies-literature | 2025 Nov

REPOSITORIES: biostudies-literature