Sabine Nebel

Ethnopharmacology of liakra: traditional weedy vegetables of the Arbereshe of the Vulture area in southern Italy

An ethnobiological field study on food plants and medicinal foods traditionally consumed in three Arbëresh (ethnic Albanian) communities in northern Lucania (southern Italy) document approximately 120 botanical taxa used for these purposes. Non-domesticated food vegetables (liakra), mostly gathered during the spring season, play a central role as traditional functional food. Quantitative ethnobotanical, ethnotaxonomical, ethnoecological, ethnogastronomical, and ethnopharmacological aspects related to gathering, processing, cooking and consumption of liakra are discussed. Unusual food species, such as Lycium europeaum, Centaurea calcitrapa, and a few spontaneous weedy Asteraceae and Brassicaceae species are locally used in the kitchen. Most of these are very poorly known phytochemically and phytopharmacologically. Moreover, an analysis of taste perception of the most commonly used botanical foods was conducted in the village of Ginestra. Arbëresh taste classification and indigenous criteria related to the perception of bitter taste in considering non-cultivated plants as food or medicine are discussed as well.

Food for two seasons: culinary uses of non-cultivated local vegetables and mushrooms in a south Italian village.

The use of non-cultivated plants in a daily diet based on local cuisines is potentially of considerable interest to nutritional scientists, because of the plants’ role as local products and their potential as sources of novel nutraceuticals. In many Mediterranean regions these traditions are at risk of disappearing, hence the urgent need to study such knowledge systems. Accordingly, an ethnobotanical survey was carried out among the 850 inhabitants of the village of Castelmezzano, in central Lucania, which is located in the inland southern Italy. Seventy-five taxa of non-cultivated and semi-cultivated local food plants and mushrooms were documented, and uncommon food uses of a few species were reported for the first time. These include Bellavalia romana, Lepista nebularis and Onopordum illyricum. Most of the recorded non-cultivated food plants and mushrooms are cooked in oil or fat. Very few are consumed raw. This article discusses in detail the traditional culinary uses of these plants, their seasonality, ethnoecology, and their economic and nutritional potentials. The article also demonstrates how food agro-biodiversity is inextricably connected with cultural heritage.

Wild Gathered Food Plants in the European Mediterranean: A Comparative Analysis

The Mediterranean basin has a long and multifaceted cultural history and harbors a high biodiversity. 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. In this study we compare ethnobotanical data obtained from field studies conducted in Southern Italy, Southern Spain, mainland Greece, and Crete resulting in the identification of a core group of 18 culinary used wild gathered plant species. This group comprises species likePapaver rhoeas L.,Sonchus asper L.,S. oleraceus L., andSilene vulgaris L. We argue that the culinary use of wild gathered weedy greens evolved together with the neolithization process, since this offered the necessary ecological niches for them to thrive, thereby enriching and securing the diets of European agriculturalists. Especially wild gathered Asteraceae species seem to form a sort of proto-nutraceutical, which accounts for a significant input of biologically active compounds in the diet.ResumenII bacino Mediterraneo ha vissuto una lunga e multisfaccettata storia culturale e gode di una ricca biodiversita. Studi epidemiologici hanno attirato attenzione su certe diete] mediterranee. Attualmente I’ uso culinario di piante selvagge e commestibili, elemento importante di queste diete, si sta perdendo e ha ricevuto poca attenzione dai punto di vista scientifico. In questo lavoro mettiamo a paragone una serie di dati etnobotanici ottenuti da ricerche di campo nel sud dell’Italia, nel sud della Spagna, nella Grecia e a Creta risultanti nell’identificazione di un gruppo principale di 18 specie selvatiche ad uso culinario. Questo gruppo comprende specie come ilPapaver rhoeas L., ilSonchus asper L., ilS. oleraceus L. e ilSilene vulgaris L. Mettiamo in evidenza che l’evoluzione dell’uso culinario delle verdure selvatiche è avvenuto durante il processo di neolitizazzione poiché questo ha fornito le nicchie ecologiche necessarie. Attraverso il loro uso gli agricoltori europei hanno arricchito e assicurato la loro dieta. In modo particolare le specie raccolte selvatiche appartenenti alle Astaraceae sembrano formare un protointegratore rappresentando una fonte significativa di composti biologicamente attivi nella dieta.RésuméLa Cuenca Mediterránea tiene una historia cultural larga y polifacetica y alberga una biodiversidad extraordinaria. Diversos estudios epidemiologicos han atraido atencion sobre algunas dietas mediterraneas tradicionales. Sin embargo, las especies silvestres comestibles recolectadas, un elemento importante de estas dietas que va desapareciendo rápidamente, han sido hasta ahora casie olvidadas en los estudios científicos. En este artículo comparamos datos etnobotánicos obtenidos de estudios de campo realizados en el sur de Italia, de España y de la Grecia continental y en Creta, que conducen a la identificatión de un grupo central de 18 especies de plantas recolectadas, silvestres, usadas en alimentatión. Este grupo comprende especies comoPapaver rhoeas L.,Sonchus asper L., 5.oleraceus L. ySilene vulgaris L. Sostenemos que el uso culinario de verduras silvestres y de hierbas de los campos de cultivo evolucionó asociado al proceso del neolitización, que ofreció los nichos ecológicos necesarios para el desarrollo de estas especies, enriqueciendo y afianzando las dietas de los primeros agricultores europeos. Especialmente las especies silvestres recolectadas de [la familia] Asteraceae, parecen constituir un tipo de proto-nutracéutico que aporta significativamente compuestos biológicamente activos a la dieta.

Ethnopharmacy of the ethnic Albanians (Arbëreshë) of northern Basilicata, Italy.

Intercultural studies about the methods of use and perceptions of traditional remedies in Europe are strategically important in understanding how pharmaceutical means in our multicultural modern societies are differently accepted by diverse ethnic groups. In this survey, we analysed the biological means traditionally used in the ethnomedicine of three Arbëreshë (ethnic Albanians) communities in the Vulture area (northern Lucania, southern Italy). The majority of remedies are represented by plants belonging to 54 botanical taxa. A few of the recorded species have a traditional therapeutic use that has never previously been reported in southern Italy. Other means-especially used in the past-are comprised of mineral, animal and industrial derived materials. In specific cases, some of these materials and even plants are neither applied externally or internally, but are instead utilised as symbolic ritual objects in spiritual healing ceremonies. Ethnopharmacological and anthropological considerations about these usages are discussed.

Ta chòrta: Wild edible greens used in the Graecanic area in Calabria, Southern Italy

Dietary patterns change rapidly all over the world. The body of available local food knowledge, which forms the basis of many local traditions, is decreasing dramatically. At the same time, consumers demand novel types of tasty food, which is easy to prepare. In the Mediterranean, vegetables and salads made from wild greens have been particularly important as local (traditional) foods since ancient times. This double interest in local plant use and diets led to an ethnobotanical and socio-nutritional survey carried out in 2002 and 2003 among the inhabitants of the Graecanic area in Southern Calabria, Italy. The Graecanic area is part of the cultural and linguistic heritage of the Magna Graecia and the later Byzantine Empire. The villagers in the area have retained many aspects of this cultural heritage, including their own language Grecanico, in which wild edible greens are called ta chòrta. The inhabitants of the Graecanic area regularly gather more than 40 wild food species. The present study demonstrates how the consumption of wild food plant species is strongly embedded in the local culture, and that they contribute to a healthy and balanced diet.

Disseminating knowledge about 'Local Food Plants' and 'Local Plant Foods'.

Ethnobotanical approaches to the study of Mediterranean food plants offer novel ways for analyzing and preserving traditional knowledge and agrobiodiversity in the Mediterranean area. This article highlights our strategy to increase the awareness within traditional knowledge systems and encourage the continuous evolution of it, avoiding the loss of substantial parts of the local cultural and biological diversity. The strategy is part of a broader stream of thought, which does attempt to disseminate information locally in a multitude of ways, e.g. through a range of publications in rural or urban zones, to people with or without formal education, to children or the elderly. This article is a very personal account of the experience of the authors, but there is an urgent need to assess the impact of such activities on a broader level, and, also, to reassess the impact researchers have on the communities. Our clear impression in all field sites has been that the simple fact that such traditional knowledge systems are the focus of scientific investigation are an essential element of giving renewed sociocultural value to such knowledge and that activities like the ones described here are of great interest to the communities we worked in.