Delgado Amélia, Gonçalves Sandra, Romano Anabela
MED-Mediterranean Institute for Agriculture, Environment and Development & CHANGE-Global Change and Sustainability Institute, Universidade do Algarve, 8005-139 Faro, Portugal.
Faculdade de Ciências e Tecnologia, Universidade do Algarve, Campus de Gambelas, Ed. 8, 8005-139 Faro, Portugal.
Foods. 2023 Feb 16;12(4):840. doi: 10.3390/foods12040840.
Today's global food system aggravates climate change while failing in meeting SDG2 and more. Yet, some sustainable food cultures, such as the Mediterranean Diet (MD), are simultaneously safe, healthy, and rooted in biodiversity. Their wide range of fruits, herbs, and vegetables convey many bioactive compounds, often associated with colour, texture, and aroma. Phenolic compounds are largely responsible for such features of MD's foods. These plant secondary metabolites all share in vitro bioactivities (e.g., antioxidants), and some are evidenced in vivo (e.g., plant sterols lower cholesterol levels in blood). The present work examines the role of polyphenols in the MD, with respect to human and planetary health. Since the commercial interest in polyphenols is increasing, a strategy for the sustainable exploitation of Mediterranean plants is essential in preserving species at risk while valuing local cultivars (e.g., through the geographical indication mechanism). Finally, the linkage of food habits with cultural landscapes, a cornerstone of the MD, should enable awareness-raising about seasonality, endemism, and other natural constraints to ensure the sustainable exploitation of Mediterranean plants.
当今的全球粮食系统加剧了气候变化，同时未能实现可持续发展目标2以及更多目标。然而，一些可持续的饮食文化，如地中海饮食（MD），既安全又健康，且植根于生物多样性。它们丰富多样的水果、香草和蔬菜含有许多生物活性化合物，这些化合物通常与颜色、质地和香气有关。酚类化合物在很大程度上决定了地中海饮食食物的这些特性。这些植物次生代谢产物都具有体外生物活性（如抗氧化剂），其中一些在体内也得到了证实（如植物甾醇可降低血液中的胆固醇水平）。本研究探讨了多酚在地中海饮食中对人类健康和地球健康的作用。由于对多酚的商业兴趣日益增加，制定一项可持续开发地中海植物的战略对于保护濒危物种同时重视当地品种（如通过地理标志机制）至关重要。最后，饮食习惯与文化景观的联系是地中海饮食的基石，这应该能够提高人们对季节性、地方特色和其他自然限制因素的认识，以确保地中海植物的可持续开发。
