indagine etnobotanica su alcune piante selvatiche alimentari e prodotti tradizionali finalizzati allo sviluppo di catene alimentari basate su prodotti della tradizione

A recent global analysis of extinction risk for the world's plants (IUCN Sampled Red List Index for Plants, 2010) has revealed that the world’s plant species threatened with extinction. The industrial agriculture is one of the main causes for the loss of plant biodiversity. This ethnobotanical survey focuses on the conservation and use of plant resources in their natural habitat ('in situ' or 'on farm' conservation), working with smallholder farmers in some central and southern regions of Italy In particular, the project would like to be a starting point to improve the development of food chains of traditional local products, based on the use of wild food plants interesting from a nutraceutical point of view (e.g. antioxidants). The project research consisted in three phases: Ethnobotanical survey: The aim of this phase is to explore the traditional knowledge about edible wild plants in an unknown area of the Avellino province (Picentini Mountains). In all, we interviewed 64 key informants, whose age ranged between 40 and 93 years and nearly 2100 ethnobotanical reports about food traditional uses was collected. The research resulted to the identification of 101 plants belonging to 37 families, whose food use is interesting from the ethnobotanical point of view. Nutraceutical analysis: We evaluate the antioxidant activity (ABTS, DPPH) and the total phenolics content (Folin-Ciocalteu) of five herbaceous plants (Cichorium intybus, Helminthotheca echioides, Hypochaeris radicata, Tordylium apulum and Reichardia picroides) widely used in central Italy, where are being consumed raw or cooked to prepare various traditional dishes. Evaluation of the cultural erosion: With regard to this aspect, the research has provided support to the evaluation of cultural erosion in the island of Bali. Moreover we selected the territory of Tolfa studied nearly 20 years ago to evaluate the cultural erosion of wild food plants uses. This ethnobotanical study, identifying a high richness in wild food plant uses in an area never studied before, investigating some of the factors which contribute to the cultural erosion of Traditional Knowledge (TK) and evaluating the antioxidant properties of some wild food plants, provides a useful contribution for the development of food chains based on traditional products