Nutritional values,bioactive compounds and health benefits of purslane(Portulaca oleracea L.):a comprehensive review

Portulaca oleracea L.,commonly known as purslane,is a worldwide weed species belonging to the family Portulacaceae and has been known as“Global Panacea”.As one of the most widely consumed green vegetables and medicinal plants around the world,it has recently been re-evaluated as a potential“new crop”due to the properties that differentiate it as one of the best vegetable sources of omega-3 fatty acid(α-linolenic acid),as well as a variety of nutrients and phytochemicals.Accordingly,emerging research has found that purslane exhibits health-promoting properties like anti-inflammatory,anti-hyperglycemic,antioxidant,neuroprotective,and immunomodulatory.These findings suggest that this species possesses a potential using as a dietary supplement beyond potherb and traditional medicine.This review systematically summarizes the up-to-date research carried out on purslane,including the nutritional compositions,bioactive compounds,and health benefits it exerts as well as limitations,challenges,and future directions of research.Finally,we hope that this review would provide purslane with a comprehensive reference and future scope as functional and health-promoting food for disease prevention and treatment.

Purslane protects against the reproductive toxicity of carbamazepine treatment in pilocarpine-induced epilepsy model

Objective: To investigate the protective effect of purslane with carbamazepine treatment.Methods: Male albino rats were modulated by pilocarpine to be epileptic.Both the normal and epileptic rats were treated with carbamazepine, purslane or carbamazepine plus purslane, with separate non-treated control groups for both normal and epileptic rats.Results: The data from the current study showed amelioration in amino acids and electrolytes in the epileptic rats treated with purslane and carbamazepine, with this amelioration occurring without decreasing the fertility hormones(testosterone,dehydroepiandrosterone, luteinizing hormone and follicle stimulating hormone).Purslane treatments also prevented the increase in estradiol.The decreased epileptic hyperexcitability with purslane was evidenced by decreased glial fibrillary acidic protein and lipid peroxidation.Conclusions: Natural products like purslane could be used with the highly repetitive drugs like carbamazepine to reduce or prevent its side-effects.

Research Status of Medicinal Plant Purslane

The research status of nutrient composition, medicinal value, development and utilization and cultivation techniques of purslane was analyzed to provide reference for further development and utilization of medicinal plant purslane.

Isolation and Characterization of Endophytic Fungi from Purslane and the Effects of Isolates on the Growth of the Host

Purslane, a common weed, has been used as food or folk medicine in many countries. The growth, medicinal components and nutrient contents of the plant are closely associated with endophytes, especially endophytic fungi. In this study, the endophytic fungi associated with purslane were isolated, and the effects of the isolates on the host were investigated to lay a foundation for further research and development of purslane resources. The results showed that a total of eight endophytic fungi were isolated from purslane (collected from Hohhot, Inner Mongolia, China), and they belonged to the genera Penicillium (isolates K, N, P, M and I), Chaetomium (isolate J), Fusarium (isolate H) and Petriella (isolate O). Moreover, the growth of purslane was significantly influenced by its endophytic fungi. Isolate M can significantly decrease the germination rate, while J can significantly increase the germination rate of purslane. In addition, H, J and M can significantly increase the bud length of purslane, and the fermentation broth of P has a negative influence on the bud length of purslane. M and I can significantly increase the height, fresh weight and chlorophyll content of purslane due, in part, to the lower pH of the fermentation broth of I and M.

Nutraceutical health benefit and safety utility of Portulaca oleracea: A review focus on neuroendocrine function

Background:Portulaca oleracea L.,a traditional medicine with bioactive compounds like flavonoids and omega-3 fatty acids,has gained interest in its neuroendocrine and toxicological effects.Objectives:The aim of this review is to provide a comprehensive summary of the current knowledge on the neuroendocrine and toxicological activities of Portulaca oleracea.This review also highlights the potential mechanisms of action of these activities.Methods:A literature search was conducted using various databases such as PubMed,ScienceDirect,and Google Scholar.Keywords such as’Portulaca oleracea’,’purslane’,’neuroendocrine activity’,and’toxicological activity’were used to identify relevant articles.Only studies published in English were included in this review.Results:Portulaca oleracea has been found to improve testicular and cognitive function as well as memory in animal models of Alzheimer’s disease and cerebral ischemia due to its antioxidant,anti-inflammatory properties,anti-anxiety and anti-depressant effects.On the other hand,Portulaca oleracea has also been reported to possess toxicological activities.Studies have shown that high doses of Portulaca oleracea extract can cause liver and kidney damage in animal models.The toxic effects of Portulaca oleracea are thought to be due to the presence of oxalates and nitrates in the plant.However,these toxic effects have not been observed in human studies,where Portulaca oleracea was found to be safe for consumption.Conclusion:In conclusion,Portulaca oleracea,a medicinal plant with potential health benefits,has neuroendocrine effects like neuroprotective,anxiolytic,and anti-depressant properties.However,high doses should be used cautiously due to potential toxicological effects.

Multi-omics Analysis of Young Portulaca oleracea L.Plants’Responses to High NaCl Doses Reveals Insights into Pathways and Genes Responsive to Salinity Stress in this Halophyte Species

Soil salinity is among the abiotic stressors that threaten agriculture the most,and purslane(Portulaca oleracea L.)is a dicot species adapted to inland salt desert and saline habitats that hyper accumulates salt and has high phytoremediation potential.Many researchers consider purslane a suitable model species to study the mechanisms of plant tolerance to drought and salt stresses.Here,a robust salinity stress protocol was developed and used to characterize the morphophysiological responses of young purslane plants to salinity stress;then,leaf tissue underwent characterization by distinct omics platforms to gain further insights into its response to very high salinity stress.The salinity stress protocol did generate different levels of stress by gradients of electrical conductivity at field capacity and water potential in the saturation extract of the substrate,and the morphological parameters indicated three distinct stress levels.As expected from a halophyte species,these plants remained alive under very high levels of salinity stress,showing salt crystal-like structures constituted mainly by Na^(+),Cl^(−),and K^(+)on and around closed stomata.A comprehensive and large-scale metabolome and transcriptome single and integrated analyses were then employed using leaf samples.The multi-omics integration(MOI)system analysis led to a data-set of 51 metabolic pathways with at least one enzyme and one metabolite differentially expressed due to salinity stress.These data sets(of genes and metabolites)are valuable for future studies aimed to deepen our knowledge on the mechanisms behind the high tolerance of this species to salinity stress.In conclusion,besides showing that this species applies salt exclusion already in young plants to support very high levels of salinity stress,the initial analysis of metabolites and transcripts data sets already give some insights into other salt tolerance mechanisms used by this species to support high levels of salinity stress.