


































































The effect of different growth conditions on the content of bioactive compounds and gross β-radioactivity of some wild edible plants in the Republic of Armenia
							| Functional Foods in Health and Disease - Online ISSN: 2160-3855; Print ISSN: 2378-7007



	

				
						
 
	Skip to main content
	Skip to main navigation menu
		Skip to site footer


			

				
					
						Open Menu
					
										
																Functional Foods in Health and Disease - Online ISSN: 2160-3855; Print ISSN: 2378-7007
										

				


				
				
					
					
						
																					
				
					Home
				
										
									
										Food Science Publisher
									
								
	
									
										Functional Food Center
									
								


							
	
				
					Current
				
							
	
				
					Archives
				
							
	
				
					About
				
										
									
										About the Journal
									
								
	
									
										Aims and Scope
									
								
	
									
										Contact
									
								
	
									
										Editing Services
									
								
	
									
										Editorial Team
									
								
	
									
										Express Peer Review
									
								
	
									
										Graphical Abstract
									
								
	
									
										Journal Insights
									
								
	
									
										Privacy Statement
									
								
	
									
										Submissions
									
								


							
	
				
					Announcements
				
							
	
				
					Search
				
							



				

																						
									
										
										Search
									
								

													

					

					
								
				
					Register
				
							
	
				
					Login
				
							



					

				
			

		

						
			
				


			
		
			
				Home
			
			/
		
	
			
				Archives
			
			/
		
	
				
					Vol. 15 No. 9 (2025): September 2025
				
				/
			
	
			
									Research Articles
							
		



	
		  	 

		
	
		The effect of different growth conditions on the content of bioactive compounds and gross β-radioactivity of some wild edible plants in the Republic of Armenia
	


	
	
		

							
					Authors

						
							
								Laura Ghalachyan
							
																																		
	
							
								Mahsa Daryadar
							
																																		
	
							
								Artur Matevosyan
							
																																		
	
							
								Hamid Reza Roosta
							
																																		
	
							
								Mansour Ghorbanpour
							
																																		
	
							
								Aristakes Ghahramanyan
							
																																		
	
							
								Anjelika Stepanyan
							
																																		
	
							
								Anna Tadevosyan
							
																																		


				
			
																	
					
												DOI:
					

					
						
							https://doi.org/10.31989/ffhd.v15i9.1748
						
					
				
			

						
										
					Abstract

					Background: Nowadays, people prefer using edible plants over synthetic drugs for the prevention and treatment of diseases. These plants are rich in bioactive compounds (BC), such as vitamins, carotenoids, proteins, carbohydrates, organic acids, flavonoids, tannins, and more. Humans have used them for thousands of years as both food and medicine. Through the rational use of edible plants, people aim to enhance the body’s immunity and prevent diseases. In this context, the need to obtain edible plants that are both rich in BC and radioecologically safe has become an urgent concern.

Objective: To identify the optimal conditions for obtaining BC-rich radioecologically safe plant products, we studied the comparative characteristics of BC (protein, tannins, flavonoids) content and their gross β-radioactivity in several wild edible plants-WEP (sickleweed - Falcaria vulgaris Bernh., eryngium - Eryngium caucasicum Trautv., and rhubarb - Rheum rhabarbarum L.) under outdoor hydroponics and soil cultivation conditions. The research was conducted at the Institute of Hydroponics Problems (IHP) in the Ararat Valley; an area located within a 30 km radius of the Armenian Nuclear Power Plant (ANNP).

Methods: Total protein content was assessed using the Kjeldahl method, and tannin content was determined using a titrimetric method, while the total flavonoid content was quantified using a spectrophotometric method. Gross β-radioactivity of samples was defined with radiochemical methods through the radiometer UMF-1500 with low background. 

Results: The cultivation method (hydroponics, soil) did not significantly affect the content of total flavonoids and tannins in sickleweed leaves. In hydroponics, the protein content in sickleweed increased by 1.3 times, while the flavonoid content in eryngium leaves and the tannin content were 1.2 times higher than those in soil-grown plants. The concentration of the nutrient solution (0.75N, 1.0N, 1.25N) significantly affected the flavonoid and tannin content in the petioles of rhubarb. The minimum flavonoid and tannin content in rhubarb petioles was recorded at 0.75N (0.2% and 2.1%, respectively), while the maximum content was observed at 1.25N (0.4% and 2.8%, respectively). Food plants, in order of gross β-radioactivity levels in hydroponics and soil, form the following descending order: sickleweed > eryngium > rhubarb. The gross β-radioactivity of plants varied between 780-910 Bq/kg in hydroponic systems, compared to 650-760 Bq/kg in soil. 

Novelty: This study is the first to integrate biochemical profiling of BC with radiological safety assessment in WEP (sickleweed, eryngium, and rhubarb) cultivated under hydroponic and soil conditions. It demonstrates that hydroponics not only enhances protein, flavonoid, and tannin yields but also ensures radio-ecological safety, confirming WEP as promising functional food ingredients and medicinal resources.

Conclusion: In the raw materials of WEP, the content of certain BC in hydroponics exceeded that in soil. The raw materials of plants grown under different conditions are considered radio-ecologically safe because their gross β-radioactivity does not exceed the radio-ecological safety threshold set by the World Health Organization (< 1000 Bq/kg). Regardless of cultivation conditions, edible plants can be used as a functional food.

Keywords: Falcaria vulgaris Bernh., Eryngium caucasicum Trautv., Rheum rhabarbarum L., protein, tannin, total flavonoids, radio-ecological safety.

				
			
			

						
																																																																				
						
		


		

						
										
					
						Downloads
					

						
								
	
													


		
	[Abstract]

	
							
	
								
	
													


		
	[Full_Article]

	
							


				

						
						
				
					
						Published
					

					
																			2025-09-05
																	

				
							

			
						
										

											
							
								Issue
							

							
								
									Vol. 15 No. 9 (2025): September 2025
								
							

						
					
											
							
								Section
							

							
								Research Articles
							

						
					
									

			
						
										
					
						License
					

																										Copyright (c) 2025 Functional Foods in Health and Disease - Online ISSN: 2160-3855; Print ISSN: 2378-7007

														This work is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution-NonCommercial 4.0 International License.

																Authors retain the copyright of their articles and grant the Functional Food Center (FFC) and its journals the right of first publication under the terms of the Creative Commons Attribution 4.0 International License.

This license permits unrestricted use, distribution, and reproduction in any medium, including commercial use, provided the original author(s) and source are properly credited. Authors may post and share their published work freely, provided that the original publication in this journal is acknowledged.

By submitting to this journal, authors confirm that their manuscripts are original, not under consideration elsewhere, and that they hold the necessary rights to grant this license. The Functional Food Center encourages open scientific exchange and allows derivative and extended works, provided attribution to the original publication is maintained.

				

			
			

		

	




	




	


							



	

	

					
				About the Journal      Editing Services      Graphical Abstract      Journal Insights        Submissions        Editorial Team       Privacy Statement        Contact        Current        Archives

 

			

		
		Open Journal Systems Hosting and Support by: OpenJournalSystems.com


	










