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A cohort of 6185 subjects (males = 2921; females = 3264) was settled in Ragusa province as part of the European Prospective Investigation into Cancer and Nutrition (EPIC).
Food intake was evaluated by a food frequency questionnaire (FFQ) face-to-face administered. Specific items questioned about both usual leaf-vegetables and traditional local wild greens.
In order to compare the total antioxidant capacity (TAC) intake from wild greens (Sinapis Incana, Asparagus Acutifolius and Cichorium Intibus) to the most frequently consumed locally cultivated leafy-vegetables (spinach, endive and broccoli), the values of TAC, measured in cooked vegetables by Trolox equivalent antioxidant capacity (TEAC) assay, were multiplied by the daily grams consumption of each of them as estimated by the FFQ.
Among the wild greens consumers the TAC from edible wild vegetables account for 36.4%, in men (0.36 mmol Trx eq/g/day), and 28.8%, in women (0.29 mmol Trx eq/g/day), of the whole TAC from all of the above mentioned vegetables. In the context of a relatively low vegetable daily consumption, the edible wild greens traditionally eaten in Ragusa province seem to be an important source of dietary antioxidants.
R. Tumino, G. Frasca, Azienda Ospedaliera, Italy,
N. Pellegrini, S. Salvatore, University of Parma, Italy
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