Lemna minor: Unlocking the Value of This Duckweed for the Food and Feed Industry

Sosa, Diana; Alves, Felipe M.; Prieto, Miguel A.; Pedrosa, Mariana C.; Heleno, Sandrina A.; Barros, Lillian; Feliciano, Manuel; Carocho, Márcio

doi:10.3390/foods13101435

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Lemna minor: Unlocking the Value of This Duckweed for the Food and Feed Industry

by

Diana Sosa

^1,2,†

,

Felipe M. Alves

^1,2,†

,

Miguel A. Prieto

³

,

Mariana C. Pedrosa

^1,2,4

,

Sandrina A. Heleno

^1,2

,

Lillian Barros

^1,2

,

Manuel Feliciano

^1,2

and

Márcio Carocho

^1,2,*

¹

Centro de Investigação de Montanha (CIMO), Instituto Politécnico de Bragança, Campus de Santa Apolónia, 5300-253 Bragança, Portugal

²

Laboratório Associado Para a Sustentabilidade e Tecnologia em Regiões de Montanha (SusTEC), Instituto Politécnico de Bragança, Campus de Santa Apolónia, 5300-253 Bragança, Portugal

³

Nutrition and Bromatology Group, Department of Analytical and Food Chemistry, Faculty of Food Science and Technology, Universidade de Vigo, Ourense Campus, E32004 Ourense, Spain

⁴

Centro de Biotecnologia e Química Fina (CBQF), Universidade Católica Portuguesa, 4169-005 Porto, Portugal

^*

Author to whom correspondence should be addressed.

^†

These authors contributed equally to the manuscript.

Foods 2024, 13(10), 1435; https://doi.org/10.3390/foods13101435

Submission received: 3 April 2024 / Revised: 30 April 2024 / Accepted: 2 May 2024 / Published: 7 May 2024

(This article belongs to the Section Plant Foods)

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Abstract

Duckweed (Lemna minor L.) is a small floating aquatic plant that has an important economic impact in several industrial areas. With its high biomass production, reasonable protein content, and resilience to several climates, it has been attracting increasing interest for potential use in animal and human food systems. Historically consumed in southwest Asia, this duckweed is now gaining attention as a potential novel food in Europe. This manuscript explores the contributions of duckweed to various food and feed industries, including aquaculture and livestock, while also pointing out the incipient research carried out for human consumption. Most importantly, it highlights the potential of Lemna minor as a vegetable for future human consumption whether eaten whole or through extraction of its nutrients.

Keywords: Lemna minor; duckweed; novel food

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MDPI and ACS Style

Sosa, D.; Alves, F.M.; Prieto, M.A.; Pedrosa, M.C.; Heleno, S.A.; Barros, L.; Feliciano, M.; Carocho, M. Lemna minor: Unlocking the Value of This Duckweed for the Food and Feed Industry. Foods 2024, 13, 1435. https://doi.org/10.3390/foods13101435

AMA Style

Sosa D, Alves FM, Prieto MA, Pedrosa MC, Heleno SA, Barros L, Feliciano M, Carocho M. Lemna minor: Unlocking the Value of This Duckweed for the Food and Feed Industry. Foods. 2024; 13(10):1435. https://doi.org/10.3390/foods13101435

Chicago/Turabian Style

Sosa, Diana, Felipe M. Alves, Miguel A. Prieto, Mariana C. Pedrosa, Sandrina A. Heleno, Lillian Barros, Manuel Feliciano, and Márcio Carocho. 2024. "Lemna minor: Unlocking the Value of This Duckweed for the Food and Feed Industry" Foods 13, no. 10: 1435. https://doi.org/10.3390/foods13101435

APA Style

Sosa, D., Alves, F. M., Prieto, M. A., Pedrosa, M. C., Heleno, S. A., Barros, L., Feliciano, M., & Carocho, M. (2024). Lemna minor: Unlocking the Value of This Duckweed for the Food and Feed Industry. Foods, 13(10), 1435. https://doi.org/10.3390/foods13101435

Note that from the first issue of 2016, this journal uses article numbers instead of page numbers. See further details here.

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Lemna minor: Unlocking the Value of This Duckweed for the Food and Feed Industry

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