Ethnobotany, Nutritional Traits, and Healthy Properties of Some Halophytes Used as Greens in the Mediterranean Basin

The Mediterranean basin is extraordinarily rich in wild edible species including
halophytes, which grow on shoreline, while some species, typically of the
hinterland, grow well under saline conditions anyway. This chapter aims to
describe ethnobotany, chemical composition, and healthy properties of some
most important edible halophyte species of the Mediterranean Basin, in order
to highlight their potential key role in human diet and utilization. The ancient use
of wild halophyte species for both food and ethnomedicinal purposes suggests
high potentialities for the halophytes of the Mediterranean Basin, translating in
an exploitation by food industry toward the production of novel products with
functional and health beneficial properties. However, further research is needed
regarding several aspects such as the evaluation of several ecotypes for each
species and different growing techniques, the improvement of ecotypes through
breeding programs, the assessment of the nutritional traits, clinical trials to
identify the mechanisms of human health effects, and the optimal consumption
on a daily basis, both to determine the daily intake of healthy compounds and
to exclude possible toxicity effects. Therefore, an interdisciplinary approach is
necessary for valorizing halophytes in the Mediterranean Basin, highlighting the
great importance of the ethnobotany.