Nutritional Composition, Antioxidant and Antimicrobial Activities of Selected Wild Edible Plants

This study determines the nutritional composition and antioxidant and antimicrobial activities of wild plants available in Pakistan. Eight wild plant species, such as Chenopodium murale, Eruca sativa, Goldbachia laevigata, Malcolmia africana, Malva neglecta, Medicago polymorpha, Melilotus officinalis and Nasturtium officinale, were collected from their natural habitat and analyzed. Proximate analysis of plants showed good amount of fibers and proteins in M. neglecta and M. officinalis. Among the minerals, calcium and potassium were predominantly present in all plants. The total antioxidant and free radical-scavenging activities of the plant species showed a linear correlation with the total phenolics. Our results indicated that methanolic extracts of plant species have measurable inhibitory effect against Escherichia coli, Salmonella typhi, Streptococcus pneumoniae and Proteus vulgaris. These results may provide useful information for the evaluation of the selected wild plants in terms of their nutritional potential and medicinal values. Practical Applications The nutritional values and medicinal potential of wild-plant food are of considerable importance as they help to pinpoint traditional food resources of poor population in developing countries. However, it is important to build awareness among the community to accept wild-plant foods as useful as the cultivated ones. The assessment of nutritional composition, antioxidant properties, antibacterial and phytochemical composition of the selected wild plants may provide potential insights into their applications in functional foods and nutraceuticals development. The current work will provide new reference data and will give awareness to public consuming these unconventional plants as food.