{"status":"ok","message-type":"work","message-version":"1.0.0","message":{"indexed":{"date-parts":[[2026,4,10]],"date-time":"2026-04-10T03:26:22Z","timestamp":1775791582879,"version":"3.50.1"},"reference-count":50,"publisher":"MDPI AG","issue":"24","license":[{"start":{"date-parts":[[2021,12,7]],"date-time":"2021-12-07T00:00:00Z","timestamp":1638835200000},"content-version":"vor","delay-in-days":0,"URL":"https:\/\/creativecommons.org\/licenses\/by\/4.0\/"}],"content-domain":{"domain":[],"crossmark-restriction":false},"short-container-title":["Applied Sciences"],"abstract":"<jats:p>Halophytes have gradually been introduced in marine integrated multi-trophic aquaculture (IMTA) systems due to their capacity to bioremediate nutrient-rich marine effluents and their potential use for human consumption due to their content of omega-3 and omega-6 fatty acids (FA). To foster the valorization of halophytes produced using an IMTA framework for human consumption, it is important that culture conditions keep or enhance their FA profile, when compared to that displayed by conspecifics in the wild. The main objective of the present study was to compare the FA profiles of three halophyte species (Halimione portulacoides, Salicornia ramosissima and Sarcocornia perennis) cultured in aquaponics coupled to an IMTA system with that of wild conspecifics retrieved from donor sites. The FA profiles were compared considering different plant organs (edible parts and roots) and sampling dates (spring, summer and autumn). Results show that the FA profiles of specimens cultured in aquaponics were significantly different from that of wild conspecifics, displaying a high content of omega-3 FAs in edible parts, particularly during summer, and mostly in the form of \u03b1-linolenic acid (ALA, 18:3n-3). In more detail, for the specimens cultured in aquaponics, ALA concentration in the edible parts of each species ranged from 5.10 to 7.11 \u03bcg mg\u22121 DW in H. portulacoides, from 5.66 to 9.19 \u03bcg mg\u22121 DW in S. ramosissima and from 5.49 to 7.20 \u03bcg mg\u22121 DW in S. perennis. Concerning the omega-6 linoleic acid (LA, 18:2n-6) identified in edible parts, the concentrations ranged from 2.25 to 2.46 \u03bcg mg\u22121 DW in H. portulacoides, from 3.26 to 4.84 \u03bcg mg\u22121 DW in S. ramosissima, and from 2.17 to 3.06 \u03bcg mg\u22121 DW in S. perennis. The nutritional quality was assessed through the ratio of PUFA\/SFA, for both wild and cultured plants, and revealed values well above the threshold (0.45), the threshold value indicative of good nutritional quality. Overall, the culture conditions tested in the present work reinforce the potential of aquaponics coupled to marine IMTA to produce high-quality halophytes suitable for human consumption.<\/jats:p>","DOI":"10.3390\/app112411586","type":"journal-article","created":{"date-parts":[[2021,12,7]],"date-time":"2021-12-07T02:48:13Z","timestamp":1638845293000},"page":"11586","update-policy":"https:\/\/doi.org\/10.3390\/mdpi_crossmark_policy","source":"Crossref","is-referenced-by-count":5,"title":["Halophyte Plants Cultured in Aquaponics Hold the Same Potential for Valorization as Wild Conspecifics from Donor Sites"],"prefix":"10.3390","volume":"11","author":[{"given":"Bruna","family":"Marques","sequence":"first","affiliation":[{"name":"ECOMARE & CESAM & Department of Biology, University of Aveiro, 3810-193 Aveiro, Portugal"}]},{"given":"Elisabete","family":"Maciel","sequence":"additional","affiliation":[{"name":"ECOMARE & CESAM & Department of Chemistry, University of Aveiro, 3810-193 Aveiro, Portugal"}]},{"ORCID":"https:\/\/orcid.org\/0000-0001-5357-3601","authenticated-orcid":false,"given":"Maria Ros\u00e1rio","family":"Domingues","sequence":"additional","affiliation":[{"name":"ECOMARE & CESAM & Department of Chemistry, University of Aveiro, 3810-193 Aveiro, Portugal"},{"name":"LAQV & Centro de Espectrometria de Massa, Departamento de Qu\u00edmica, Universidade de Aveiro, 3810-193 Aveiro, Portugal"}]},{"ORCID":"https:\/\/orcid.org\/0000-0002-1670-9335","authenticated-orcid":false,"given":"Ricardo","family":"Calado","sequence":"additional","affiliation":[{"name":"ECOMARE & CESAM & Department of Biology, University of Aveiro, 3810-193 Aveiro, Portugal"}]},{"ORCID":"https:\/\/orcid.org\/0000-0002-5228-0329","authenticated-orcid":false,"given":"Ana Isabel","family":"Lilleb\u00f8","sequence":"additional","affiliation":[{"name":"ECOMARE & CESAM & Department of Biology, University of Aveiro, 3810-193 Aveiro, Portugal"}]}],"member":"1968","published-online":{"date-parts":[[2021,12,7]]},"reference":[{"key":"ref_1","unstructured":"United Nations (2015). The Millennium Development Goals Report, United Nations. Available online: https:\/\/www.un.org\/millenniumgoals\/2015_MDG_Report\/pdf\/MDG%202015%20rev%20(July%201).pdf."},{"key":"ref_2","unstructured":"United Nations (2018). Progress towards the Sustainable Development Goals; Report of the Secretary-General, United Nations. Available online: https:\/\/digitallibrary.un.org\/record\/1627573#record-files-collapse-header."},{"key":"ref_3","unstructured":"FAO (2014). The State of World Fisheries and Aquaculture, Opportunities and Challenges, Food and Agriculture Organization of the United Nations. Available online: http:\/\/www.fao.org\/3\/a-i3720e.pdf."},{"key":"ref_4","unstructured":"European Commission (2012). Blue Growth Opportunities for Marine and Maritime Sustainable Growth, Communication from the Commission to the European Parliament, the Council, the European Economic and Social Committee and the Committee of the Regions, European Commission."},{"key":"ref_5","doi-asserted-by":"crossref","first-page":"232","DOI":"10.1016\/j.jclepro.2018.01.037","article-title":"Analysis of aquaponics as an emerging technological innovation system","volume":"180","author":"Janker","year":"2018","journal-title":"J. Clean. Prod."},{"key":"ref_6","doi-asserted-by":"crossref","first-page":"127","DOI":"10.1007\/BF01965480","article-title":"Clarifying the definition ofSustainable agriculture","volume":"6","author":"Lehman","year":"1993","journal-title":"J. Agric. Environ. Ethic"},{"key":"ref_7","doi-asserted-by":"crossref","first-page":"4199","DOI":"10.3390\/su7044199","article-title":"Challenges of Sustainable and Commercial Aquaponics","volume":"7","author":"Goddek","year":"2015","journal-title":"Sustainability"},{"key":"ref_8","doi-asserted-by":"crossref","unstructured":"Junge, R., K\u00f6nig, B., Villarroel, M., Komives, T., and Jijakli, M.H. (2017). Strategic Points in Aquaponics. Water, 9.","DOI":"10.3390\/w9030182"},{"key":"ref_9","doi-asserted-by":"crossref","first-page":"16","DOI":"10.1016\/j.aquaculture.2015.03.005","article-title":"The implications of aquaculture policy and regulation for the development of integrated multi-trophic aquaculture in Europe","volume":"443","author":"Alexander","year":"2015","journal-title":"Aquaculture"},{"key":"ref_10","doi-asserted-by":"crossref","first-page":"445","DOI":"10.3354\/aei00244","article-title":"Unravelling the potential of halophytes for marine integrated multi-trophic aquaculture (IMTA)\u2014A perspective on performance, opportunities and challenges","volume":"9","author":"Villasante","year":"2017","journal-title":"Aquac. Environ. Interact."},{"key":"ref_11","doi-asserted-by":"crossref","first-page":"255","DOI":"10.1016\/S0044-8486(99)00084-8","article-title":"Halophytes for the treatment of saline aquaculture effluent","volume":"175","author":"Brown","year":"1999","journal-title":"Aquac."},{"key":"ref_12","doi-asserted-by":"crossref","first-page":"5102","DOI":"10.1016\/j.watres.2012.06.034","article-title":"Halophyte filter beds for treatment of saline wastewater from aquaculture","volume":"46","author":"Webb","year":"2012","journal-title":"Water Res."},{"key":"ref_13","doi-asserted-by":"crossref","first-page":"52","DOI":"10.1016\/j.aquaculture.2013.06.038","article-title":"Constructed wetland with Salicornia as a biofilter for mariculture effluents","volume":"412-413","author":"Shpigel","year":"2013","journal-title":"Aquac."},{"key":"ref_14","doi-asserted-by":"crossref","first-page":"1922","DOI":"10.1016\/j.scitotenv.2017.05.121","article-title":"New species for the biomitigation of a super-intensive marine fish farm effluent: Combined use of polychaete-assisted sand filters and halophyte aquaponics","volume":"599-600","author":"Marques","year":"2017","journal-title":"Sci. Total. Environ."},{"key":"ref_15","doi-asserted-by":"crossref","first-page":"330","DOI":"10.1016\/j.foodchem.2014.05.117","article-title":"Lipophilic profile of the edible halophyte Salicornia ramosissima","volume":"165","author":"Isca","year":"2014","journal-title":"Food Chem."},{"key":"ref_16","doi-asserted-by":"crossref","first-page":"35","DOI":"10.1016\/j.jfca.2017.02.003","article-title":"Halophytes: Gourmet food with nutritional health benefits?","volume":"59","author":"Barreira","year":"2017","journal-title":"J. Food Compos. Anal."},{"key":"ref_17","doi-asserted-by":"crossref","first-page":"94","DOI":"10.1016\/j.phytochem.2018.05.015","article-title":"Polar lipidome profiling of Salicornia ramosissima and Halimione portulacoides and the relevance of lipidomics for the valorization of halophytes","volume":"153","author":"Maciel","year":"2018","journal-title":"Phytochemistry"},{"key":"ref_18","first-page":"1","article-title":"Bioengineered Plants Can Be a Useful Source of Omega-3 Fatty Acids","volume":"2017","author":"Khan","year":"2017","journal-title":"BioMed Res. Int."},{"key":"ref_19","doi-asserted-by":"crossref","first-page":"421","DOI":"10.1016\/S0952-3278(99)80023-4","article-title":"Evolutionary aspects of omega-3 fatty acids in the food supply","volume":"60","author":"Simopoulos","year":"1999","journal-title":"Prostaglandins Leukot. Essent. Fat. Acids"},{"key":"ref_20","doi-asserted-by":"crossref","first-page":"263","DOI":"10.4067\/S0716-97602004000200013","article-title":"Omega-3 Fatty Acids and Antioxidants in Edible Wild Plants","volume":"37","author":"Simopoulos","year":"2004","journal-title":"Biol. Res."},{"key":"ref_21","first-page":"376","article-title":"Aquaculture Effluent: Effect on Yield, Nutrient Content and Uptake in Salicornia bachiata Roxb","volume":"6","author":"Singh","year":"2015","journal-title":"J. Aquac. Res. Dev."},{"key":"ref_22","doi-asserted-by":"crossref","first-page":"145","DOI":"10.1016\/j.ecoleng.2013.09.058","article-title":"The effect of halophyte planting density on the efficiency of constructed wetlands for the treatment of wastewater from marine aquaculture","volume":"61","author":"Webb","year":"2013","journal-title":"Ecol. Eng."},{"key":"ref_23","doi-asserted-by":"crossref","first-page":"110","DOI":"10.1016\/j.envexpbot.2012.05.002","article-title":"Three halophytes for saline-water agriculture: An oilseed, a forage and a grain crop","volume":"92","author":"Glenn","year":"2013","journal-title":"Environ. Exp. Bot."},{"key":"ref_24","doi-asserted-by":"crossref","unstructured":"Maciel, E., Leal, M.C., Lilleb\u00f8, A.I., Domingues, P., Domingues, M.R., and Calado, R. (2016). Bioprospecting of Marine Macrophytes Using MS-Based Lipidomics as a New Approach. Mar. Drugs, 14.","DOI":"10.3390\/md14030049"},{"key":"ref_25","doi-asserted-by":"crossref","first-page":"189","DOI":"10.1016\/j.scienta.2011.02.001","article-title":"Effect of seawater concentration on the productivity and nutritional value of annual Salicornia and perennial Sarcocornia halophytes as leafy vegetable crops","volume":"128","author":"Ventura","year":"2011","journal-title":"Sci. Hortic."},{"key":"ref_26","doi-asserted-by":"crossref","first-page":"75","DOI":"10.1007\/978-94-011-5266-2_6","article-title":"Fate of plant detritus in a European salt marsh dominated by Atriplex portulacoides (L.) Aellen","volume":"373","author":"Bouchard","year":"1998","journal-title":"Oceans Rivers Lakes Energy Substance Transf. Interfaces"},{"key":"ref_27","unstructured":"Waisel, Y. (1972). Biology of Halophytes, Academic Press."},{"key":"ref_28","doi-asserted-by":"crossref","first-page":"1035","DOI":"10.1111\/j.1365-2745.2006.01156.x","article-title":"Biological Flora of the British Isles:Sarcocornia perennis(Miller) A.J. Scott","volume":"94","author":"Davy","year":"2006","journal-title":"J. Ecol."},{"key":"ref_29","doi-asserted-by":"crossref","first-page":"41225","DOI":"10.1038\/srep41225","article-title":"\u2018Blue Carbon\u2019 and Nutrient Stocks of Salt Marshes at a Temperate Coastal Lagoon (Ria de Aveiro, Portugal)","volume":"7","author":"Sousa","year":"2017","journal-title":"Sci. Rep."},{"key":"ref_30","doi-asserted-by":"crossref","first-page":"1","DOI":"10.1080\/02626667.2014.983518","article-title":"Climate change impact assessment on water inflow to a coastal lagoon: The Ria de Aveiro watershed, Portugal","volume":"60","author":"Stefanova","year":"2015","journal-title":"Hydrol. Sci. J."},{"key":"ref_31","doi-asserted-by":"crossref","first-page":"235","DOI":"10.1016\/j.chroma.2004.07.090","article-title":"Evaluation of a methylation procedure to determine cyclopropenoids fatty acids from Sterculia striata St. Hil. Et Nauds seed oil","volume":"1054","author":"Lago","year":"2004","journal-title":"J. Chromatogr. A"},{"key":"ref_32","doi-asserted-by":"crossref","first-page":"16","DOI":"10.1016\/j.jembe.2008.07.006","article-title":"Animal-sediment relationships re-visited: Characterising species\u2019 distributions along an environmental gradient using canonical analysis and quantile regression splines","volume":"366","author":"Anderson","year":"2008","journal-title":"J. Exp. Mar. Biol. Ecol."},{"key":"ref_33","unstructured":"Balakrishnan, N., Colton, T., Everitt, B., Piegorsch, W., Ruggeri, F., and Teugels, J.L. (2017). Permutational Multivariate Analysis of Variance (PERMANOVA), John Wiley & Sons, Ltd."},{"key":"ref_34","unstructured":"Clarke, K.R., and Gorley, R.N. (2006). PRIMER V6: User Manual\/Tutorial, PRIMER-E."},{"key":"ref_35","doi-asserted-by":"crossref","first-page":"327","DOI":"10.1093\/aob\/mcu267","article-title":"Plant salt tolerance: Adaptations in halophytes","volume":"115","author":"Flowers","year":"2015","journal-title":"Ann. Bot."},{"key":"ref_36","doi-asserted-by":"crossref","first-page":"122","DOI":"10.1016\/j.envexpbot.2012.07.005","article-title":"Biofiltering of aquaculture effluents by halophytic plants: Basic principles, current uses and future perspectives","volume":"92","author":"Buhmann","year":"2013","journal-title":"Environ. Exp. Bot."},{"key":"ref_37","doi-asserted-by":"crossref","first-page":"1473","DOI":"10.1007\/s10499-015-9898-3","article-title":"Integrated multi-trophic aquaculture in a zero-exchange recirculation aquaculture system for marine fish and hydroponic halophyte production","volume":"23","author":"Waller","year":"2015","journal-title":"Aquac. Int."},{"key":"ref_38","doi-asserted-by":"crossref","first-page":"581","DOI":"10.1051\/rnd:2005047","article-title":"Conversion of \u03b1-linolenic acid to longer-chain polyunsaturated fatty acids in human adults","volume":"45","author":"Burdge","year":"2005","journal-title":"Reprod. Nutr. Dev."},{"key":"ref_39","doi-asserted-by":"crossref","first-page":"289","DOI":"10.3109\/07388551.2011.630647","article-title":"Medicinal halophytes: Potent source of health promoting biomolecules with medical, nutraceutical and food applications","volume":"32","author":"Ksouri","year":"2011","journal-title":"Crit. Rev. Biotechnol."},{"key":"ref_40","doi-asserted-by":"crossref","first-page":"355","DOI":"10.1016\/j.plipres.2009.07.002","article-title":"Alpha-linolenic acid and its conversion to longer chain n\u22123 fatty acids: Benefits for human health and a role in maintaining tissue n\u22123 fatty acid levels","volume":"48","author":"Murphy","year":"2009","journal-title":"Prog. Lipid Res."},{"key":"ref_41","doi-asserted-by":"crossref","first-page":"1","DOI":"10.1186\/s12870-019-2006-5","article-title":"Analysis of widely targeted metabolites of the euhalophyte Suaeda salsa under saline conditions provides new insights into salt tolerance and nutritional value in halophytic species","volume":"19","author":"Li","year":"2019","journal-title":"BMC Plant Biol."},{"key":"ref_42","doi-asserted-by":"crossref","first-page":"1113","DOI":"10.1007\/s11745-002-1008-x","article-title":"What is the role of \u03b1-linolenic acid for mammals?","volume":"37","author":"Sinclair","year":"2002","journal-title":"Lipids"},{"key":"ref_43","doi-asserted-by":"crossref","first-page":"562785","DOI":"10.3389\/fpls.2020.562785","article-title":"Plant Unsaturated Fatty Acids: Multiple Roles in Stress Response","volume":"11","author":"He","year":"2020","journal-title":"Front. Plant Sci."},{"key":"ref_44","doi-asserted-by":"crossref","first-page":"7","DOI":"10.1016\/0005-2760(95)00242-1","article-title":"Recent advances in the biosynthesis of plant fatty acids","volume":"1301","author":"Harwood","year":"1996","journal-title":"Biochim. Biophys. Acta (BBA) Lipids Lipid Metab."},{"key":"ref_45","doi-asserted-by":"crossref","first-page":"197","DOI":"10.1016\/j.pbi.2005.01.012","article-title":"Metabolic engineering of new fatty acids in plants","volume":"8","author":"Singh","year":"2005","journal-title":"Curr. Opin. Plant Biol."},{"key":"ref_46","doi-asserted-by":"crossref","first-page":"404","DOI":"10.1016\/j.foodres.2013.11.036","article-title":"Nutrient composition and, identification\/quantification of major phenolic compounds in Sarcocornia ambigua (Amaranthaceae) using HPLC\u2013ESI-MS\/MS","volume":"55","author":"Bertin","year":"2014","journal-title":"Food Res. Int."},{"key":"ref_47","doi-asserted-by":"crossref","unstructured":"Chen, J., and Liu, H. (2020). Nutritional Indices for Assessing Fatty Acids: A Mini-Review. Int. J. Mol. Sci., 21.","DOI":"10.3390\/ijms21165695"},{"key":"ref_48","doi-asserted-by":"crossref","unstructured":"Gunning, D., Maguire, J., and Burnell, G. (2016). The Development of Sustainable Saltwater-Based Food Production Systems: A Review of Established and Novel Concepts. Water, 8.","DOI":"10.3390\/w8120598"},{"key":"ref_49","doi-asserted-by":"crossref","first-page":"92","DOI":"10.1016\/j.biortech.2015.01.013","article-title":"Effect of plant species on nitrogen recovery in aquaponics","volume":"188","author":"Hu","year":"2015","journal-title":"Bioresour. Technol."},{"key":"ref_50","unstructured":"European Commission (2018). Communication from the Commission to the European Parliament, the Council, the European Economic and Social Committee and the Committee of the Regions: On a Monitoring Framework for the Circular Economy, European Commission. Available online: https:\/\/eur-lex.europa.eu\/legal-content\/EN\/TXT\/?uri=COM%3A2018%3A29%3AFIN."}],"container-title":["Applied Sciences"],"original-title":[],"language":"en","link":[{"URL":"https:\/\/www.mdpi.com\/2076-3417\/11\/24\/11586\/pdf","content-type":"unspecified","content-version":"vor","intended-application":"similarity-checking"}],"deposited":{"date-parts":[[2025,10,11]],"date-time":"2025-10-11T07:42:16Z","timestamp":1760168536000},"score":1,"resource":{"primary":{"URL":"https:\/\/www.mdpi.com\/2076-3417\/11\/24\/11586"}},"subtitle":[],"short-title":[],"issued":{"date-parts":[[2021,12,7]]},"references-count":50,"journal-issue":{"issue":"24","published-online":{"date-parts":[[2021,12]]}},"alternative-id":["app112411586"],"URL":"https:\/\/doi.org\/10.3390\/app112411586","relation":{},"ISSN":["2076-3417"],"issn-type":[{"value":"2076-3417","type":"electronic"}],"subject":[],"published":{"date-parts":[[2021,12,7]]}}}