Skip to main content

Advertisement

SpringerLink
Log in

The co-evolutionary perspective of the food-medicine continuum and wild gathered and cultivated vegetables

  • Short Communication
  • Published:
Genetic Resources and Crop Evolution Aims and scope Submit manuscript

Abstract

Accumulated evidence suggests that our genes are still adapted to a pre-agriculturalist diet, which was devoid of refined sugars and dairy products and that our modern dietary behaviour is in great part responsible for several modern life style diseases. Especially the consumption of fruits, spices and vegetables, cultivated or gathered from the wild, are perceived as being healthy or endowed with a prophylactic effect and therefore many of these dietary items are regarded as both at the same time: food and medicine. I argue that green leafy vegetables began to contribute substantially to the human diet only with the beginning of agriculture, when the ecological niche of weeds began to prosper. Wild gathered vegetables added to the agriculturalists’ dietary need in form of a back-up resource in times of shortage and in form of micronutrients and allelochemicals promoting the development of the modern pharmacopoeias. Similarly to wild gathered foods are cultivated staples recently getting more attention by phytochemists and pharmacologists. Especially local cultivars and agro-ecotypes may present interesting opportunities for phytochemical and pharmacological analysis in the attempt of identifying bioactive dietary allelochemicals. Chemical and biological characterization of local crop cultivars serves for the selection of varieties with specific nutraceutical properties. Germplasm can be obtained from several local organizations, which arrange easy access to seeds and products of rare crop cultivars, foster their commercialization and secure catering through the conservation of agro-biodiversity.

This is a preview of subscription content, log in via an institution to check access.

Access this article

Log in via an institution

Price excludes VAT (USA)
Tax calculation will be finalised during checkout.

Instant access to the full article PDF.

Institutional subscriptions

References

  • Bartha-Pichler B, Brunner F, Gersbach K (2005) Rosenapfel und Goldparmäne—Eine Entdeckungsreise durch die Vielfalt alter und neuer Apfelsorten. ProSpecieRara und Fructus, AT-Verlag, Aarau

    Google Scholar 

  • Bartha-Pichler B, Frei M, Kajtna B, Zuber M (2006) Osterfee und Amazone. Vergessene Beerensorten—neu entdeckt. ProSpecieRara und Arche-Noah, AT-Verlag, Aarau

  • Bonet MA, Vallès J (2002) Use of non-crop food vascular plants in Montseny biosphere reserve (Catalonia, Iberian Peninsula). Int J Food Sci Nutr 53:225–248

    Article  PubMed  Google Scholar 

  • Borbach C, Egloff B, ProSpecieRara (2002) Tschüpperli, Stiefelgeiss und andere Raritäten. Das Tierbuch mit allen ProSpecieRara Nutztierrassen. ProSpecieRara, Aarau

    Google Scholar 

  • Brandt K, Christensen LP, Hansen-Møller J, Hansen SL, Haraldsdottir J, Jespersen L, Purup S, Kharazmie A, Barkholt V, Frøkiærf H, Kobæk-Larsen M (2004) Health promoting compounds in vegetables and fruits: a systematic approach for identifying plant components with impact on human health. Trends Food Sci Technol 15:384–393

    Article  CAS  Google Scholar 

  • Cai Y, Jia J-W, Crock J, Lin Z-X, Chen X-Y, Croteau R (2002) A cDNA clone for β-caryophyllene synthase from Artemisia annua. Phytochemistry 61:523–529

    Article  PubMed  CAS  Google Scholar 

  • Carlson DG, Daxenbichler ME, VanEtten CH (1987) Glucosinolates in crucifer vegetables: broccoli, brussels sprouts, cauliflower, collards, kale, mustard greens, and kohlrabi. J Amer Soc Hort Sci 112:173–178

    CAS  Google Scholar 

  • Carrera-Bastos P, Fontes-Villalba M, O’Keefe JH, Lindeberg S, Cordain L (2011) The western diet and lifestyle and diseases of civilization. Res Rep Clin Cardiol 2:15–35

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Chen Q, Li YL, McKinney KA, Kuwata M, Martin ST (2012) Particle mass yield from β-caryophyllene ozonolysis. Atmos Chem Phys 12:3165–3179

    Article  CAS  Google Scholar 

  • Cheng A-X, Xiang C-Y, Li J-X, Yang C-Q, Hu W-L, Wang L-J, Lou Y-G, Chen X-Y (2007) The rice (E)-β-caryophyllene synthase (OsTPS3) accounts for the major inducible volatile sesquiterpenes. Phytochemistry 68:1632–1641

    Article  PubMed  CAS  Google Scholar 

  • Christensen LP (2011) Aliphatic C17-polyacetylenes of the falcarinol type as potential health promoting compounds in food plants of the Apiaceae family. Recent Pat Food Nutr Agric 3:64–77

    Google Scholar 

  • Christensen LP, Brandt K (2006) Bioactive polyacetylenes in food plants of the Apiaceae family: occurrence, bioactivity and analysis. J Pharm Biomed Anal 41:683–693

    Article  PubMed  CAS  Google Scholar 

  • Cordain L (2002) The nutritional characteristics of a contemporary diet based upon Paleolithic food groups. J Am Nutr Assoc 5:15–24

    Google Scholar 

  • Cordain L, Eaton SB, Sebastian A, Mann N, Lindeberg S, Watkins BA, O’Keefe JH, Brand-Miller J (2005) Origins and evolution of the western diet: health implications for the 21st century. Am J Clin Nutr 81:341–354

    PubMed  CAS  Google Scholar 

  • Eaton SB (2000) Paleolithic vs. modern diets—selected pathophysiological implications. Eur J Nutr 39:67–70

    Article  PubMed  CAS  Google Scholar 

  • Eaton SB, Konner M (1985) Paleolithic nutrition. A consideration of its nature and current implications. N Engl J Med 312:283–289

    Article  PubMed  CAS  Google Scholar 

  • Eaton SB, Strassman BI, Nesse RM, Neel JV, Ewald PW, Williams GC, Weder AB, Eaton SB III, Lindeberg S, Konner MJ, Mysterud I, Cordain L (2002) Evolutionary health promotion. Prev Med 34:109–118

    Article  PubMed  Google Scholar 

  • Etkin N (1996) Medicinal cuisines: diet and ethnopharmacology. Int J Pharmacog 34:313–326

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Etkin N (2006) Edible medicines. An ethnopharmacology of food. The University of Arizona Press, Tucson

    Google Scholar 

  • Etkin NL, Ross PJ (1982) Food as medicine and medicine as food. An adaptive framework for the interpretation of plant utilization among Hausa of Northern Nigeria. Soc Sci Med 16:1559–1573

    Article  PubMed  CAS  Google Scholar 

  • Etkin NL, Ross PJ (1991) Should we set a place for diet in ethnopharmacology? J Ethnopharmacol 32:25–36

    Article  PubMed  CAS  Google Scholar 

  • European Food Safety Authority “EFSA” (2009) Water-soluble tomato concentrate (WSTC I and II) and platelet aggregation. EFSA J 1101:1–15. http://www.efsa.europa.eu/en/efsajournal/pub/1101.htm

  • Gamet-Payrastre L, Li P, Lumeau S, Cassar G, Dupont MA, Chevolleau S, Gasc N, Tulliez J, Tercé F (2000) Sulforaphane, a naturally occurring isothiocyanate, induces cell cycle arrest and apoptosis in HT29 human colon cancer cells. Cancer Res 60:1426–1433

    PubMed  CAS  Google Scholar 

  • Gertsch J (2008) Anti-inflammatory cannabinoids in diet: towards a better understanding of CB2 receptor action? Commun Integr Biol 1:26–28

    Article  PubMed  CAS  Google Scholar 

  • Gertsch J, Leonti M, Raduner S, Racz I, Chen JZ, Xie XQ, Altmann KH, Zimmer A, Karsak M (2008) Beta-caryophyllene is a dietary cannabinoid. Proc Natl Acad Sci USA 105:9099–9104

    Article  PubMed  CAS  Google Scholar 

  • Gertsch J, Pertwee RG, Di Marzo V (2010) Phytocannabinoids beyond the Cannabis plant—do they exist? Br J Pharmacol 160:523–529

    Article  PubMed  CAS  Google Scholar 

  • González JA, García-Barriuso M, Amich F (2011) The consumption of wild and semi-domesticated edible plants in the Arribes del Duero (Salamanca-Zamora, Spain): an analysis of traditional knowledge. Genet Resour Crop Evol 58:991–1006

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Guindon J, Hohmann AG (2008) Cannabinoid CB2 receptors: a therapeutic target for the treatment of inflammatory and neuropathic pain. Br J Pharmacol 153:319–334

    Article  PubMed  CAS  Google Scholar 

  • Hammer K, Laghetti G (2005) Genetic erosion—examples from Italy. Genet Resour Crop Evol 52:629–634

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Hammer K, Knüpffer H, Laghetti G, Perrino P (1999) Seeds from the Past. A catalogue of crop germplasm in central and north Italy. IdG (C.N.R.), Bari

  • Harlan JR (1992) Crops & man, 2nd edn. American Society of Agronomy, Inc. Crop Science Society of America, Inc. Madison, WI

  • Heinrich M, Prieto JM (2008) Diet and healthy ageing 2100: will we globalise local knowledge systems? Ageing Res Rev 7:249–274

    Article  PubMed  Google Scholar 

  • Heinrich M, Nebel S, Leonti M, Rivera D, Obón C (2006) “Local food-nutraceuticals”: bridging the gap between local knowledge and global needs. Forum Nutr 59:1–17

    Article  PubMed  Google Scholar 

  • Heistinger A (2010) Handbuch Samengärtnerei. Sorten erhalten, Vielfalt vermehren, Gemüse geniessen. Arche Noah und ProSpecieRara. Eugen Ulmer Verlag, Stuttgart

    Google Scholar 

  • Heywood VH, Zohary D (1995) A catalogue of the wild relatives of cultivated plants native to Europe. Flora Med 5:375–415

    Google Scholar 

  • International Treaty on Plant Genetic Resources for Food and Agriculture (2012) http://www.planttreaty.org. Accessed 18 April 2012

  • Izzo AA, Camilleri M (2008) Emerging role of cannabinoids in gastrointestinal and liver diseases: basic and clinical aspects. Gut 57:1140–1155

    Article  PubMed  CAS  Google Scholar 

  • Jacomet SC, Brombacher C, Dick M (1989) Archäobotanik am Zürichsee. Ackerbau Sammelwirtschaft und Umwelt von Neolithischen und Bronzezeitlichen Seeufersiedlungen im Raum Zürich. Orell Füssli Verlag, Zürich

    Google Scholar 

  • Johns T (1990) With bitter herbs they shall eat it: chemical ecology and the origins of human diet and medicine. The University of Arizona Press, Tucson

    Google Scholar 

  • Kammerer D, Carle R, Schieber A (2004) Characterization of phenolic acids in black carrots (Daucus carota ssp. sativus var. atrorubens Alef.) by high-performance liquid chromatography/electrospray ionization mass spectrometry. Rapid Commun Mass Spectrom 18:1331–1340

    Article  PubMed  CAS  Google Scholar 

  • Kim S, Karl T, Helmig D, Daly R, Rasmussen R, Guenther A (2009) Measurement of atmospheric sesquiterpenes by proton transfer reaction-mass spectrometry (PTR-MS). Atmos Meas Tech 2:99–112

    Article  CAS  Google Scholar 

  • Kim JK, Chu SM, Kim SJ, Lee DJ, Lee SY, Lim SH, Ha S-H, Kweon SJ, Cho HS (2010) Variation of glucosinolates in vegetable crops of Brassica rapa L. ssp. pekinensis. Food Chem 119:423–428

    Article  CAS  Google Scholar 

  • Knudsen JT, Tollsten L, Bergström LG (1993) Floral scents—a checklist of volatile compounds isolated by head-space techniques. Phytochemistry 33:253–280

    Article  CAS  Google Scholar 

  • Köllner TG, Held M, Lenk C, Hiltpold I, Turlings TCJ, Gershenzon J, Degenhardta J (2008) A maize (E)-β-caryophyllene synthase implicated in indirect defense responses against herbivores is not expressed in most American maize varieties. Plant Cell 20:482–494

    Article  PubMed  Google Scholar 

  • Kurilich AC, Clevidence BA, Britz SJ, Simon PW, Novotny JA (2005) Plasma and urine responses are lower for acylated vs nonacylated anthocyanins from raw and cooked purple carrots. J Agric Food Chem 53:6537–6542

    Article  PubMed  CAS  Google Scholar 

  • Kushad MM, Brown AF, Kurilich AC, Juvik JA, Klein BP, Wallig MA, Jeffery EH (1999) Variation of glucosinolates in vegetable crops of Brassica oleracea. J Agric Food Chem 47:1541–1548

    Article  PubMed  CAS  Google Scholar 

  • Leonti M, Nebel S, Rivera D, Heinrich M (2006) Wild gathered food plants in the European Mediterranean: a comparative analysis. Econ Bot 60:130–142

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Leonti M, Cabras S, Weckerle CS, Solinas MN, Casu L (2010a) The causal dependence of present plant knowledge on herbals—contemporary medicinal plant use in Campania (Italy) compared to Matthioli (1568). J Ethnopharmacol 130:379–391

    Article  PubMed  Google Scholar 

  • Leonti M, Casu L, Raduner S, Cottiglia F, Floris C, Altmann KH, Gertsch J (2010b) Falcarinol is a covalent cannabinoid CB1 receptor antagonist and induces pro-allergic effects in skin. Biochem Pharmacol 79:1815–1826

    Article  PubMed  CAS  Google Scholar 

  • Lindeberg S (2010) Food and western disease. Health and nutrition from an evolutionary perspective. Blackwell, Oxford

    Google Scholar 

  • Logan MH, Dixon AR (1994) Agriculture and the acquisition of medicinal plant knowledge. In: Etkin NL (ed) Eating on the wild side. University of Arizona Press, Tucson, pp 25–45

    Google Scholar 

  • Mann NJ (2004) Paleolithic nutrition: what can we learn from the past? Asia Pac J Clin Nutr 13(S):17

    Google Scholar 

  • Maurizio A (1927) Die Geschichte unserer Nahrungspflanzen. Von den Urzeiten bis zur Gegenwart. Verlagsbuchhandlung Paul Parey, Berlin

    Google Scholar 

  • McPartland JM, Agraval J, Gleeson D, Heasman K, Glass M (2006) Cannabinoid receptors in invertebrates. J Evol Biol 19:366–373

    Article  PubMed  CAS  Google Scholar 

  • Meghvansi MK, Siddiqui S, Khan MH, Gupta VK, Vairale MG, Gogoi HK, Singh L (2010) Naga chilli: a potential source of capsaicinoids with broad-spectrum ethnopharmacological applications. J Ethnopharmacol 132:1–14

    Article  PubMed  CAS  Google Scholar 

  • Metzger BT, Barnes DM, Reed JD (2008) Purple carrot (Daucus carota L.) polyacetylenes decrease lipopolysaccharide-induced expression of inflammatory proteins in macrophage and endothelial cells. J Agric Food Chem 56:3554–3560

    Article  PubMed  CAS  Google Scholar 

  • Mithen R (2006) Sulphur-containing compounds. In: Crozier A, Clifford MN, Ashihara H (eds) Plant secondary metabolites. Occurrence, structure and role in the human diet. Blackwell Publishing, Oxford, pp 25–46

  • Moerman DE (1994) North American food and drug plants. In: Etkin NL (ed) Eating on the wild side. University of Arizona Press, Tucson, pp 166–181

    Google Scholar 

  • Montesano V, Negro D, Sarli G, Logozzo G, Spagnoletti Zeuli P (2011) Landraces in Inland areas of the Basilicata region, Italy: monitoring and perspectives for on farm conservation. Genet Resour Crop Evol. doi:10.1007/s10722-011-9712-7

  • Murdoch SR, Dempster J (2000) Allergic contact dermatitis from carrot. Contact Dermatitis 42:236

    PubMed  CAS  Google Scholar 

  • Nievergelt A, Marazzi J, Schoop R, Altmann KH, Gertsch J (2011) Ginger phenylpropanoids inhibit IL-1beta and prostanoid secretion and disrupt arachidonate-phospholipid remodeling by targeting phospholipases A2. J Immunol 187:4140–4150

    Article  PubMed  CAS  Google Scholar 

  • O’Kennedy N, Crosbie L, Whelan S, Luther V, Horgan G, Broom JI, Webb DJ, Duttaroy AK (2006a) Effects of tomato extract on platelet function: a double-blinded crossover study in healthy humans. Am J Clin Nutr 84:561–569

    PubMed  Google Scholar 

  • O’Kennedy N, Crosbie L, van Lieshout M, Broom JI, Webb DJ, Duttaroy AK (2006b) Effects of antiplatelet components of tomato extract on platelet function in vitro and ex vivo: a time-course cannulation study in healthy humans. Am J Clin Nutr 84:570–579

    PubMed  Google Scholar 

  • Pieroni A, Nebel S, Quave C, Münz H, Heinrich M (2002) Ethnopharmacology of Liakra: traditional weedy vegetables of the Abërëshe of the vulture area in southern Italy. J Ethnopharmacol 81:165–185

    Article  PubMed  Google Scholar 

  • Rasmann S, Köllner TG, Degenhardt J, Hiltpold I, Toepfer S, Kuhlmann U, Gershenzon J, Turlings TC (2005) Recruitment of entomopathogenic nematodes by insect-damaged maize roots. Nature 434:732–737

    Article  PubMed  CAS  Google Scholar 

  • Rivera D, Heinrich M, Obon C, Inocencio C, Nebel S, Verde A, Fajardo J (2006) Disseminating knowledge about “local foods plants” and “local plant foods”. Forum Nutr 59:75–85

    Article  PubMed  Google Scholar 

  • Rosa EAS, Heaney RK, Fenwick GR, Portas CAM (1997) Glucosinolates in Crop Plants. Hort Rev 19:99–215

    CAS  Google Scholar 

  • Schäfer D (2005) Aging, longevity, and diet: historical remarks on calorie intake reduction. Gerontology 51:126–130

    Article  PubMed  Google Scholar 

  • Stepp JR, Moerman DE (2001) The importance of weeds in ethnopharmacology. J Ethnopharmacol 75:19–23

    Article  PubMed  CAS  Google Scholar 

  • Szalatnay D, Kellerhals M, Frei M, Müller U (2011) Früchte, Beeren, Nüsse—Die Vielfalt der Sorten—800 Portraits. Haupt Verlag, Bern

    Google Scholar 

  • Valussi M (2011) Functional foods with digestion-enhancing properties. Int J Food Sci Nutr 63:82–89

    Article  PubMed  Google Scholar 

  • Vissiennon C, Nieber K, Kelber O, Butterweck V (2012) Route of administration determines the anxiolytic activity of the flavonols kaempferol, quercetin and myricetin—are they prodrugs? J Nutr Biochem 7:733–740

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • White B, Judkins DZ (2011) Clinical inquiry. Does turmeric relieve inflammatory conditions? J Fam Pract 60:155–156

    PubMed  Google Scholar 

  • Willerding U (1986) Zur Geschichte der Unkräuter Mitteleuropas. Göttinger Schriften zur Vor- und Frühgeschichte, Band 22. Karl Wachholtz Verlag, Neumünster

  • Yang B, Quiros CF (2010) Survey of glucosinolate variation in leaves of Brassica rapa crops. Genet Resour Crop Evol 57:1079–1089

    Article  CAS  Google Scholar 

  • Yin H, Chu A, Li W, Wang B, Shelton F, Otero F, Nguyen DG, Caldwell JS, Chen YA (2009) Lipid G protein-coupled receptor ligand identification using beta-arrestin Path Hunter assay. J Biol Chem 284:12328–12338

    Article  PubMed  CAS  Google Scholar 

  • Zhang Y, Talalay P, Cho CG, Posner GH (1992) A major inducer of anticarcinogenic protective enzymes from broccoli: isolation and elucidation of structure. Proc Natl Acad Sci USA 89:2399–2403

    Article  PubMed  CAS  Google Scholar 

  • Zidorn C, Joehrer K, Ganzera M, Schubert B, Sigmund EM, Mader J, Greil R, Ellmerer EP, Stuppner H (2005) Polyacetylenes from Apiaceae vegetables carrot, celery, fennel, parsley and parsnip and their cytotoxic activities. J Agric Food Chem 53:2518–2523

    Article  PubMed  CAS  Google Scholar 

  • Zohary D, Hopf M (2000) Domestication of plants in the Old World: the origin and spread of cultivated plants in West Asia, Europe and the Nile Valley, 3rd edn. Oxford University Press, Oxford

    Google Scholar 

Download references

Author information

Authors and Affiliations

  1. Dipartimento Farmaco Chimico Tecnologico, Facoltà di Farmacia, Università di Cagliari, Via Ospedale 72, 09124, Cagliari, CA, Italy

    Marco Leonti

Authors
  1. Marco Leonti
    View author publications

    You can also search for this author in PubMed Google Scholar

Corresponding author

Correspondence to Marco Leonti.

Rights and permissions

Reprints and permissions

About this article

Cite this article

Leonti, M. The co-evolutionary perspective of the food-medicine continuum and wild gathered and cultivated vegetables. Genet Resour Crop Evol 59, 1295–1302 (2012). https://doi.org/10.1007/s10722-012-9894-7

Download citation

  • Published:

  • Issue Date:

  • DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/s10722-012-9894-7

Keywords

Search

Navigation