antioxidants Review Edible Leafy Plants from Mexico as Sources of Antioxidant Compounds, and Their Nutritional, Nutraceutical and Antimicrobial Potential: A Review Lourdes Mateos-Maces 1, José Luis Chávez-Servia 2,* , Araceli Minerva Vera-Guzmán 2 , Elia Nora Aquino-Bolaños 3 , Jimena E. Alba-Jiménez 4 and Bethsabe Belem Villagómez-González 2 1 Recursos Genéticos y Productividad-Genética, Colegio de Posgraduados, Carr. México-Texcoco Km. 36.5, Montecillo, Texcoco 56230, Mexico;
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[email protected] (A.M.V.-G.);
[email protected] (B.B.V.-G.) 3 Centro de Investigación y Desarrollo de Alimentos, Universidad Veracruzana, Xalapa-Enríquez 1090, Mexico;
[email protected] 4 CONACyT-Centro de Investigación y Desarrollo de Alimentos, Universidad Veracruzana, Xalapa-Enríquez 1090, Mexico;
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[email protected] Received: 15 May 2020; Accepted: 13 June 2020; Published: 20 June 2020 Abstract: A review of indigenous Mexican plants with edible stems and leaves and their nutritional and nutraceutical potential was conducted, complemented by the authors’ experiences. In Mexico, more than 250 species with edible stems, leaves, vines and flowers, known as “quelites,” are collected or are cultivated and consumed. The assessment of the quelite composition depends on the chemical characteristics of the compounds being evaluated; the protein quality is a direct function of the amino acid content, which is evaluated by high-performance liquid chromatography (HPLC), and the contribution of minerals is evaluated by atomic absorption spectrometry, inductively coupled plasma-optical emission spectrometry (ICP-OES) or ICP mass spectrometry. The total contents of phenols, flavonoids, carotenoids, saponins and other general compounds have been analyzed using UV-vis spectrophotometry and by HPLC.