A New Food Source: Analyzing the Nutritional Value of Plant Ferulago trachycarpa Boiss

The Umbelliferae family, consisting of annual or perennial herbs and rarely shrubs, takes up a place in our country's flora with 97 genera, and the Ferulago genus is represented by 28 species. Ferulago trachycarpa is a wild species traditionally used in human nutrition due to its sedative, digestive, carminative, and aphrodisiac properties. The purpose of this study was to determine the nutritional value of a plant sampled in Antalya Province, Alanya District, Gökbel Plateau during the pre-flowering period. The microelement, energy, carbohydrate, fat, total ash, water, and crude cellulose values were investigated. Evaluating the results, the energy value for a 100-g fresh sample was 73.51 kcal, the water content was 68.35%, the ash amount was 6.79%, the protein amount was 2.59%, the fat amount was 0.71%, the carbohydrate amount was 14.19%, and the fiber amount was 7.37%. When looking at the contents of the microelements, iron was detected at 1.85 mg/100 g, phosphorus at 28.69 mg/100 g, calcium at 2031.96 mg/100 g, magnesium at 68.57 mg/100 g, and potassium at 140.06 mg/100 g, but sodium and zinc were not detected. The amount of total ash suggests a mineral composition comprising potassium, calcium, and iron as the main elements. The present study inferred that Ferulago trachycarpa would serve as a beneficial source of protein and energy, as well as micronutrients in the form of a leafy vegetable for human consumption. Therefore, agricultural domestication for the commercial production of the Ferulago trachycarpa species needs to be investigated to serve commercial production as a functional food.