Volatile fraction of fools watercress (Apium nodiflorum) as a new spice herb and ingredient for salads

Abstract

This work displays the preliminary results of a study of the volatile fraction of fool s watercress (FW) (Apium nodiflorum), an underutilized vegetable species with potential use for salads and as spice. A comparative study of the volatile fraction of FW samples from Northern Valencia periurban area and samples from relatives parsley and celery was performed by head-space solid phase microextraction (HS/SPME) and GC-MS analysis. The profile of FW was richer than the profile of celery and parsley and resulted as a mixture of those ones. Moreover, some volatiles like isothiocyanates were identified as specific of FW. Thus, the flavour of this species can be considered similar to its relatives but more intense and consequently, may be used in salads or even as spice herb.