Unconventional Edible Plants of the Amazon: Bioactive Compounds, Health Benefits, Challenges, and Future Trends

Abstract

The pursuit of an improved quality of life is a major trend in the food market. This is driving the reformulation of the industry's product portfolio, with the aim of providing nourishment while also contributing to beneficial health metabolic processes. In this context, the use of local biodiversity and the recovery of the traditional knowledge associated with the consumption of vegetables that grow spontaneously in nature emerge as more sustainable and nutritionally adequate concepts. The Amazon region is known for its abundant biodiversity, housing numerous unconventional food plants whose nutritional and biological properties remain unknown due to a lack of research. Among the different species are Xanthosoma sagittifolium, Acmella oleracea, Talinum triangulare, Pereskia bleo, Bidens bipinnata, and Costus spiralis. These species contain bioactive compounds such as apigenin, syringic acid, spilanthol, and lutein, which provide various health benefits. There are few reports on the biological effects, nutritional composition, bioactive compounds, and market prospects for these species. Therefore, this review provides an overview of their nutritional contribution, bioactive compounds, health benefits, and current market, as well as the use of new technologies that can contribute to the development of functional products/ingredients derived from them.

Keywords: Amazon plants; biological activities; edible plants; green leaves; phenolic compounds; phytochemicals.

Figure 1

Unconventional food plants commonly found at fairs and markets in the Amazon region: (A) Xanthosoma sagittifolium; (B) Acmella oleracea; (C) Talinum triangulare; (D) Pereskia bleo; (E) Bidens bipinnata; and (F) Costus spiralis. Source: Natália Santos Reis da Cunha (A), Sebastião Rebelo de Miranda (B), and Cynthia Tereza Corrêa da Silva Miranda (C–F).

Figure 2

Chemical structure of some bioactive compounds found in unconventional vegetables from the Amazon region.