Assessment of nutritional and biological activity of wild bulbs of Allium ampeloprasum L.

Allium ampeloprasum L. has a great nutritional value as it presents antioxidant compounds with potentially beneficial effects on human. Different epidemiological studies have shown the healthy effects of the consumption of various species of the genus Allium, highlighting its anticancer effects. In the present work, the nutritional composition (carbohydrates, proteins, fat and minerals), bioactive compounds (organic acids, vitamin C, tocopherols and fatty acids) and antioxidant activity (DPPH, reducing power, inhibition of beta-carotene bleaching and TBARS methods) of the edible part of the wild leek (A. Ampeloprasum) were studied. Samples of wild leek were collected from two different wild populations located in the center of the Iberian Peninsula for three consecutive years (2007-2008), on which the aforementioned analysis were conducted. Despite the large natural variability detected, this plant stood out as a good source of fiber (3.5 to 4.7 g/100 g), iron (0.20 to 0.92 mg/100 g) and zinc (0.03 to 1.67 mg/100 g), compared to other species of the same genus. Wild leeks also showed a high proportion of polyunsaturated fatty acids, being linoleic acid the major one (53% of total fatty acids). Values were balanced in terms of the presence of hydrophilic and lipophilic bioactive compounds in this plant. The bioactivity of this species was better characterized by antioxidant activity measured as reducing power assay (correlated with tocopherols) and TBARS (correlated with total phenolic compounds).