Table 8. The top 20 plants reported for consumption in Italy, overall and by city, and comparison with the whole surveya,b,c.
| EUROPEd | ITALY | MILAN | VENICE | ROME | CATANIA | |||||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Latin name | Common name | n | % | n | % | n | % | n | % | n | % | n | % | |
| 1 | Aloe vera (L.) Burm.f. | Aloe vera | 145 | 6.2 | 44 | 11.6 | 10 | 10.4 | 7 | 7.8 | 14 | 14.6 | 13 | 13.5 |
| 2 | Foeniculum vulgare Mill | Fennel | 132 | 5.6 | 29 | 7.7 | 10 | 10.4 | 7 | 7.8 | 8 | 8.3 | 4 | 4.2 |
| 3 | Valeriana officinalis L. | Valerian | 125 | 5.3 | 29 | 7.7 | 6 | 6.3 | 5 | 5.6 | 5 | 5.2 | 13 | 13.5 |
| 4 | Panax ginseng C.A. Mey | Ginseng | 167 | 7.1 | 28 | 7.4 | 8 | 8.3 | 4 | 4.4 | 4 | 4.2 | 12 | 12.5 |
| 5 | Vaccinium myrtillus L. | Blueberry | 100 | 4.2 | 28 | 7.4 | 6 | 6.3 | 7 | 7.8 | 10 | 10.4 | 5 | 5.2 |
| 6 | Passiflora incarnata L. | Purple passion flower | 78 | 3.3 | 26 | 6.9 | 8 | 8.3 | 5 | 5.6 | 7 | 7.3 | 6 | 6.3 |
| 7 | Melissa officinalis L. | Lemon balm | 103 | 4.4 | 25 | 6.6 | 7 | 7.3 | 5 | 5.6 | 6 | 6.3 | 7 | 7.3 |
| 8 | Paullinia cupana Kunth | Guarana | 72 | 3.1 | 23 | 6.1 | 6 | 6.3 | 5 | 5.6 | 3 | 3.1 | 9 | 9.4 |
| 9 | Taraxacum officinale F.H. Wigg | Dandelion | 80 | 3.4 | 21 | 5.6 | 7 | 7.3 | 9 | 10.0 | 4 | 4.2 | 1 | 1.0 |
| 10 | Cynara scolymus L. | Globe artichoke | 173 | 7.3 | 20 | 5.3 | 6 | 6.3 | 5 | 5.6 | 8 | 8.3 | 1 | 1.0 |
| 11 | Senna alexandrina Mill. | Alexandrian senna | 60 | 2.5 | 19 | 5.0 | 5 | 5.2 | 7 | 7.8 | 3 | 3.1 | 4 | 4.2 |
| 12 | Ginkgo biloba L. | Ginkgo | 194 | 8.2 | 17 | 4.5 | 1 | 1.0 | 4 | 4.4 | 8 | 8.3 | 4 | 4.2 |
| 13 | Centella asiatica (L.) Urb. | Spadeleaf | 19 | 0.8 | 15 | 4.0 | 4 | 4.2 | 3 | 3.3 | 7 | 7.3 | 1 | 1.0 |
| 14 | Rosa canina L. | Dog rose | 44 | 1.9 | 15 | 4.0 | 5 | 5.2 | 2 | 2.2 | 4 | 4.2 | 4 | 4.2 |
| 15 | Silybum marianum (L.) Gaertn. | Milk thisle | 69 | 2.9 | 15 | 4.0 | 7 | 7.3 | 5 | 5.6 | 1 | 1.0 | 2 | 2.1 |
| 16 | Eleutherococcus senticosus (Rupr. & Maxim.) Maxim | Siberian ginseng | 28 | 1.2 | 14 | 3.7 | 4 | 4.2 | 4 | 4.4 | 2 | 2.1 | 4 | 4.2 |
| 17 | Glycyrrhiza glabra L. | Licorice | 74 | 3.1 | 14 | 3.7 | 1 | 1.0 | 5 | 5.6 | 5 | 5.2 | 3 | 3.1 |
| 18 | Malpighia glabra L. | Wild crapemyrtle | 71 | 3.0 | 14 | 3.7 | 3 | 3.1 | 5 | 5.6 | 1 | 1.0 | 4 | 4.2 |
| 19 | Cuminum cyminum L. | Cumin | 14 | 0.6 | 13 | 3.4 | 3 | 3.1 | 6 | 6.7 | 4 | 4.2 | 0 | 0 |
| 20 | Harpagophytum procumbens (Burch.) DC. ex Meisn | Devil's claw | 75 | 3.2 | 13 | 3.4 | 3 | 3.1 | 2 | 2.2 | 6 | 6.3 | 2 | 2.1 |
| n = 2359 | n = 378 | n = 96 | n = 90 | n = 96 | n = 96 | |||||||||
agrey cells indicate the botanicals in the three first positions
bsince PFS can contain more than one ingredient, the total counts are higher than the total PFS cited; percentage are referred to the total consumers' samples
ctop plants are listed according to the decreasing order of reply coming from the Italian respondents
din the whole survey the three most cited plants were: 1) Ginkgo biloba L.; 2) Oenothera biennis L. (194, not present in the top Italian list); and 3) Cynara scolymus L.