Exploring Salicornia species as potential health-promoting food: chemical fingerprinting and assessment of their bioactivities

BACKGROUND: Soil salinization is a growing environmental problem that compromises agricultural productivity, especially for salt-sensitive crops. In this context, halophytes, plants naturally adapted to saline environments, are gaining attention for their resilience and potential applications in sustainable agriculture, nutrition, and health. Among them, species of the genus Salicornia, commonly found in Mediterranean coastal areas, stand out for their ecological value and content of bioactive compounds. Salicornia europaea, known as ‘sea asparagus’, is marketed and consumed as a food, while Salicornia fruticosa and Salicornia perennis are less common and understudied. This study investigated the three Salicornia species with the aim of characterizing their chemical composition and evaluating their potential antioxidant and antidiabetic effects such as glucagon-like peptide 1 (GLP-1) secretion or glucose uptake inhibition in intestinal STC-1 cells. RESULTS: By using ultrahigh-performance liquid chromatography diode array detector high-resolution Orbitrap electrospray ionization mass spectrometry (UHPLC-DAD-HR-Orbitrap-ESI-MS), a varied range of phenolic compounds, flavonoids, saponins, and fatty acids were identified in the phytocomplexes. In vitro assays showed that S. europaea extract is promising in inhibiting α-amylase enzyme and reducing the glucose uptake via sodium-glucose transporter 1 (SGLT1) in STC-1 cells. CONCLUSION: The study highlighted the value of these Salicornia species as resilient plants with promising roles in the development of nutraceuticals and sustainable land use, particularly in salinity-affected environments. © 2026 Society of Chemical Industry.