Nutritional Properties of Wild Edible Plants with Traditional Use in the Catalan Linguistic Area: A First Step for Their Relevance in Food Security.

Wild food plants (WFPs) are crucial for the subsistence of many human populations. While

there are at least 7000 edible plant species in the world, only approximately 420 are considered food

crops. WFPs are often studied from the phytochemical and pharmacological point of view, because

they include available food components with nutraceutical value. The present study aims to highlight

the nutritional value of WFPs traditionally used in the Catalan linguistic area, providing detailed

insights and discussing the significance of these properties. Information about the nutritional properties

of 93 taxa, coming from ethnobotanical prospection, has been collected through an extensive

bibliographic research. The results reveal that WFPs are rich in nutrients, especially micronutrients.

Furthermore, in selected species, those for which nutritional information and a cultivated homologue

are available, the nutrient content in wild taxa exceeds than of phylogenetically related crop plants

with similar use. Traditional wild plant preparation forms for food and the nutritional value of a menu

constituted by wild food plants are presented. This research represents a preliminary step toward

selecting certain taxa that could be developed into new small- or large-scale crops or sustainably

harvested in the wild, contributing to food security.