Lipid concentrations of wild edible greens in Crete

Wild greens play an important role in the traditional diet of Crete and are eaten daily, either fresh in salads, boiled or cooked in pies. Six cultivated and forty eight wildly grown greens were collected and analyzed for their total monounsaturated, polyunsaturated and saturated lipid content, their total fat content, the total ω-3 and ω-6 fatty acid composition and ω-6/ω-3 ratio. According to our, studies edible wild greens of Crete are valuable sources not only of vitamins and antioxidants, but also of monounsaturated and essential fatty acids, thus playing an important role in health promotion and disease prevention in those who adhere to the traditional diet of Crete.