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SELECTED RELICT COLCHIC PLANTS AS SOURCES OF NATURAL RAW MATERIALS FOR HEALTHY NUTRITION
Abstract
The modern lifestyle exerts a range of negative effects on human health, while the growing prevalence of chronic diseases and the state of contemporary therapies highlight the critical need for healthy nutrition. A significant portion of both food products and pharmaceutical preparations currently in use contain synthetic ingredients, many of which are associated with adverse side effects. Consequently, global demand for natural, ecologically clean food products and therapeutic agents has increased substantially, as reflected in the growing relevance of -green technologies.- Wild edible plants possess nutritional and medicinal properties that often surpass those of cultivated species. Their evolutionary adaptation to harsh environmental conditions, pests, and diseases has endowed them with unique resistance mechanisms, expressed through a rich composition of biologically active compounds. These bioactive substances, in turn, exert beneficial effects on human health. Wild food plants have been used in the diet of our ancestors since ancient times. Georgia, ancient Colchis, was especially renowned in this respect. However, it should be noted that this field is currently rather neglected. The present study investigates two species growing in the relict Colchic forests of Adjara, South Colchis Aruncus silvester Kostel. ex Maxim. (syn. Aruncus vulgaris var. Astilboides; Aruncus dioicus f. Latilobus) and Arum maculatum L. The research examined their distribution, morphological development, and the content of biologically active substances in edible raw materials. The analyses were conducted using gas chromatography-mass spectrometry (GC-MS) and high-performance liquid chromatography (HPLC). Ethnobotanical methods were employed to explore the historical and potential uses of these species in human nutrition. Results indicate that Aruncus silvester Kostel. ex Maxim. contains bioactive compounds including 3-Hydroxy-2,3-dihydromaltol, Melibiose, Coumaran, Geranyl isovalerate, Oleic Acid, Mannitol, Phytol, Linolenic acid, Sitosterol, ?-Amyrin, among others. Arum maculatum L. was found to contain 3-Hydroxy-2,3-dihydromaltol, Glycerol 1-monoacetate, Hexahydrofarnesyl acetone, Palmitic acid, ?-Carboline, Phytol, Linolenic acid, Campesterol, ?-Sitosterol, among others. These findings, supported by ethnobotanical evidence, suggest that the practical application of these wild species in human diets holds significant potential. Their use may not only contribute to healthier nutrition but also stimulate interest among the general population, the younger generation, and the scientific community.
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