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Ramson (Allium ursinum L.) leaves are widely used as a food spice and a powerful herb in traditional medicine. The lack of literature data relevant to the nutritional characteristics of ramson sprouts arises the need to investigate the prospects of their utilization. A. ursinum sprouts grown in ten locations of eight regions of the Chechen republic were compared with regard to their quality and antioxidant characteristics. Ramson sprouts showed significant variations in antioxidant activity (39.6- 67.1 mg GAE g-1 DW), titratable acidity (12.2-40.0 g malic acid kg-1 DW), total dissolved solids (3.37- 9.20 g kg-1 DW), disaccharides (25-82 g kg-1 DW) and selenium (41-1775 μg kg-1 DW) content. A positive correlation between selenium and total dissolved solids in sprouts (r = 0.836; P≤0.001) and a negative correlation with ascorbic acid content (r = -0.867; P≤0.001) were recorded. Antioxidant activity, polyphenol content, and ascorbic acid content in the sprouts were, respectively, 1.8, 1.3, and 2.0 times higher than in the leaves of mature plants. Despite the geographical variability of the regions where A. ursinum has been grown in the present investigation, all the measured quality and antioxidant indicators show that ramson sprouts can represent an important functional food with high nutraceutical potential.

Biofortification of garlic and onion plants with selenium and arbuscular mycorrhizal fungi inoculation are considered beneficial for producing functional food with anticarcinogenic properties. The effects of arbuscular mycorrhizal fungi (AMF) inoculation, sodium selenate foliar application, and the combination AMF + selenium (Se), compared to an untreated control, were assessed regarding the bulb yield, biochemical characteristics, and mineral composition. AMF + Se application resulted in the highest yield, monosaccharides, and Se content in both garlic and onion bulbs, and an increase of ascorbic acid and flavonoids in onion, and flavonoids in garlic. The highest bulb concentrations of P and K were recorded under the AMF + Se application, Ca was best affected by AMF, and Mg accumulation was highest under all the treatments in garlic and upon AMF + Se application in onion bulbs. Contrary to garlic, onion bulbs were characterized by a remarkable increase in microelements (B, Cu, Fe, Mn, Si, Zn) under the AMF + Se treatment. Selenium, either with or without AMF application, promoted the accumulation of B and Si in onion and Mo and Zn in garlic bulbs. It can be inferred that the interaction between AMF and Se is highly specific, differing for garlic and onion grown in similar environmental conditions in Grozny region, Chechen Republic.