A Europe-wide project is underway to assess whether local wild vegetables eaten in southern Europe might have health promoting properties, outlined scientists at a recent British Pharmaceutical conference. Speaking in Harrogate, the coordinator of the project, Dr. Andrea Pieroni from the School of Pharmacy in London, told listeners that seven European research groups, funded by the European Commission, are currently looking at “wild and weedy food plants that are traditionally consumed in isolated villages in southern Europe.” The aim of the project is to gain further insight into the local uses of the plants and to search for new nutraceuticals that could be produced commercially.

—foodnavigator.com, 9/23/03