269Table 2 .Examples of nutrient composition within varieties (per 100 g edible portion, raw).
Species Protein (g) Fibre (g) Iron (mg) Vitamin C (mg) Beta-carotene (mcg)
Rice 5.6–14. 6 0 .7–6. 4
Cassava 0.7–6.4 0.9–1.5 0.9–2.5 25–3 4 <5–790
Potato 1.4–2.9 1–2.29 0. 3 –2.7 6.4– 3 6.9 1–7.7
Sweet potato 1.3–2.1 0.7–3.9 0.6–14 2.4–35 100–2 3 100
Taro 1.1– 3 2.1– 3 .8 0.6– 3 .6 0–1 5 5 – 2 040
Breadfruit 0.7– 3 .8 0.9 0.29–1.4 21– 3 4.4 8–940
Eggplant 9 –19 5 0–12 9
Mango 0.3–1.0 1.3–3.8 0.4–2.8 22–110 20–4 320
Banana 0 .1–1.6 2 .5–17.5 <1– 8 500
Pandanus 0. 4 5 –1 0 14–90 2
GAC 6 180–1 3 720
Apricot 0.8–1.4 1.7–2.5 0.3–0.85 3.5–16.5 200–6 939
(beta-carotene equivalent)
Source: Burlingame et all., 2009.tance to ensure a gene pool useful for future breed-
ing programmes. Moreover, recent studies show
that there is great variability in nutrient content
among varieties (Table 2), demonstrating significant
nutritional differences (Burlingameet al., 2009).
Transition from traditional to intensive farming, in
addition to recent phenomena of degradation, frag-
mentation and loss of habitat, pollution, wildfires,
non-sustainable exploitation of natural resources
and climate changes, involved genetic erosion both
in cultivated and wild taxa. The Council Regulation
(EC) N° 870/2004 promotesex situand in situcon-
servation of genetic resources in agriculture, in-
cluding forest species, as well as the use of for a
long time ignored and therefore underutilized vari-
eties. Thus, there is an urgent need to identify pri-
ority wild species and areas for conservation and to
develop integratedin situand ex situpreservation
strategies, to ensure that the rich genetic diversity
of crop wild relatives is protected and the biodiver-
sity loss is halted. The Mediterranean Basin has a
high heterogeneity of cultures and a high biodiver-
sity. Epidemiological studies have drawn attention
to certain traditional Mediterranean diets. However,
wild gathered food species, which are an important,
but fast disappearing element of these diets, so far
have been largely neglected in scientific studies
(Leontiet al., 2006). Wild harvested plant foods in-
clude: roots and other underground parts; shoots
and leafy greens; berries and other fleshy fruits;
grains, nuts and seeds; and mushrooms, lichens,
algae and other species (Turner et al., 2011 ). The
use of non-cultivated leaves in Mediterranean cui-
sine is inextricably embedded with cultural con-
cepts describing the traditional management of
natural resources and the spatial organization of
the natural/cultural landscape (Pieroni et al., 2005).
Better conservation and use of wild food plants will
be crucial to help farmers adapt to current and up-
coming challenges. In the light of these considera-
tions, the traditional use of non-cultivated food
plants may represent a valuable supplementary
food source for present and future generations, and
thus preservation of knowledge of plant identities
and uses is of major concern (Pastaet al., 2011).3.3 The importance of research and innovation
The above-cited food-related problems call for very