Abstract

Pancratium maritimum L. or sea lily is a bulb perennial plant from Amaryllidaceae family growing wild in the sandy coasts of the Mediterranean regions. It has broad leaves and white fragrant flower trumpets. Composed of several fleshy layers usually known as scales, the bulb is covered with an outer papery brown skin named tunic, Nowadays, due to coastal urbanization,  P. maritimum is a neglected and endangered species. Therefore, the objective of the present research  aims to characterised biochemecally  this plant from the northern Tunisian coast using leaves, seeds and bulbs at different stage. This work showed that leaves are richer in total phenol while seeds are richer in fiber (NDF: 48,7% ADF: 20,1% et ADL: 3,5%) , fat (15,4%) and crude protein (20,8%)  than roots and bulbs. Our data showed that the maximum values ​​are generally observed in the mature stage for biochemical parameters, while statistical analyses showed that the "growth stage" effect highly significantly affects the parameters studied.

In conclusion, and given the richness of the seeds and leaves in MAT, Pancratium maritimum seems to be a promising alternative for animal nutrition and  pharmaceuticals properties, further work is needed to confirm this.

Keywords: fibers, crude protein, fat, food alternative.