Plantas alimentícias não convencionais (PANC): características, benefícios e aplicações

Abstract

Non-Conventional Food Plants (PANC) are reported in the literature with several definitions that complement each other, but the main idea would be plants and/or parts of plants that are not normally known, consumed and marketed in the current scenario of popular food. These plants are often mistakenly considered as weeds, because they have an almost spontaneous growth in unusual and unwanted places, such as sidewalks, land and backyards. The objective of this work was to carry out a bibliographic survey on 10 of the most common PANC existing in Brazil, as well as their main characteristics and uses, the benefits of their insertion in the current popular food context and applications. The databases used to select the scientific sources present in this work were Google Scholar and Scientific Electronic Library Online (SCIELO),books and websites, from March 31, 2023 to June 18, 2023. It was summarizes the main characteristics, potential uses and nutritional benefits of Pereskia aculeata, Taraxacum officinale, Portulaca oleracea, Xanthosoma taioba, Rumex acetosa, Stachys byzantina, Anredera cordifolia, Coronopus didymus, Rumex obtusifolius and Tropaeolum majus. It was also explored how the PANC can be used in the adoption of the full use of food, its uses in gastronomy, how they can help in solving problems such as food insecurity, the devaluation of local biodiversity and the environmental impacts caused by the current agricultural system. In addition, academic works focusing on the analysis of the level of knowledge of PANC by society and the development and evaluation of products with the addition of these plants were also addressed. It was found that the use and consumption of PANC can bring numerous benefits to society, such as the provision of a new food source with high nutritional value, the appreciation of local biodiversity and the reduction of food waste. However, a greater incentive is needed to the development of research and generation of knowledge on the subject in order to further explore its characteristics and applicability in food.