Publications
NIBIOs employees contribute to several hundred scientific articles and research reports every year. You can browse or search in our collection which contains references and links to these publications as well as other research and dissemination activities. The collection is continously updated with new and historical material.
2018
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Authors
Michael Roleda Hélène Marfaing Natasa Desnica Rósa Jónsdóttir Jorunn Skjermo Celine Rebours Udo NitschkeAbstract
Seaweeds are increasingly used in European cuisines due to their nutritional value. Many algal constituents, such as polyphenols, are important antioxidants and thus considered beneficial to humans. However, many seaweed species can accumulate heavy metals and exhibit potential health risks upon ingestion. We investigated temporal and spatial variations in polyphenol and heavy metal (As, Cd, Hg, Pb) concentrations of three edible seaweed species. The brown algae Saccharina latissima and Alaria esculenta, and the red alga Palmaria palmata were sourced from natural populations and aquaculture in the NE Atlantic and processed as bulk biomass mimicking industrial scales. The mean polyphenol content was species-specific (Alaria > Saccharina > Palmaria), and highest in winter (for Alaria and Saccharina) and spring (for Palmaria); inter-annual and spatial variations were marginal. Heavy metal concentrations varied between species and depended on collection site, but seasonal variations were minimal. Our data suggest that all three species are good sources of antioxidants, and the heavy metal concentrations are below the upper limits set by the French recommendation and the EU Commission Regulation on contaminants in foodstuffs. A health risk assessment indicated that consumption of these seaweed species poses a low risk for humans with regard to heavy metals. However, an EU-wide regulation on maximal concentration of heavy metals in seaweeds should be established.
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This article aims to explore differences in motivation for and actual use of allotment gardens. Results from questionnaire surveys and semistructured interviews in two Norwegian and one Dutch garden show that growing vegetables and consuming the harvest is a fundamental part of gardening. The same is true for the social element—meeting and talking to other gardeners, and feeling as part of a community. Although gardeners with different socioeconomic backgrounds experience gardening to some extent similarly, access to an allotment seems more important for gardeners with disadvantaged personal backgrounds: both their diets and their social networks rely more on, and benefit more from, their allotments. This underlines the importance of providing easy access to gardening opportunities for all urban residents, and disadvantaged groups in particular. Public officers and policy makers should consider this when deciding upon new gardening sites or public investments in urban food gardens.
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