## 1 Introduction  
With the prospect of evolving climate changes, many areas are facing shifts in rainfall patterns that, in combination with local climate extremes, induce alteration in soil productivity [1; 2; 3]. On the other hand, all over the world., the population is estimated to increase drastically, forcing scientists to find new alternative ways to produce food [4; 5; 6; 7]. Sustainable agriculture is defined as an integrated system of production that meets food needs and improves the quality of life as a whole based on ecological and natural resource-saving principles [8; 9]. In simple terms, sustainable agriculture must produce products and byproducts in a manner where the ecosystem's health is preserved, as is its capability to provide services. Therefore, the goal is to produce food in a way that does not compromise the availability of resources for future generations [10; 11; 12; 13]. At this time, agriculture is facing many constraints, among which is soil salinization, which threatens plant growth and production [14; 15; 16]. Therefore, grain production may become challenging in the context of urbanization and soil degradation [17; 18]. The decrease in agricultural areas has led, in recent years, to an urgent need to consider the development of agriculture based on saline soils. A restriction to this agricultural approach is the low tolerance to salinity of agricultural crops and trees. On such saline soils, only the plants that are salt-resistant can produce significant yields [19]. Thus, due to the impact of continuous climate change, worldwide alternative sources and implicitly salt-tolerant crops are urgently required [18; 20]. For this, halophyte plants naturally found in coastal salt marshes, inland dunes, and deserts may represent a perfect candidate [21]. They are adapted to harsh conditions and typically tolerate the presence of toxic ions, mainly in the form of sodium and chloride [22]. Mimicking nature, the use of halophytes or hyper-accumulators may also be a key approach to remediate the saline-alkaline land and contaminated sites [23; 24]. Strategies for adapting halophytes to higher salinity levels enable their potential use for phytoremediation of brackish waters and saline soils [25]. Both annual and perennial halophyte species have the ability to accumulate significant concentrations of salt from saline soils [26]. Halophytes growing near seashores have been collected since ancient times as food for their medicinal qualities and high salt contents [27]. Their presence is necessary for the preservation of salt marshes, to enhance biomass accumulation on the soil, and to stimulate soil bioturbation and aggregation [28]. Another advantage of cultivating halophyte species is enhancing soil stability by decreasing groundwater levels [29]. One such plant is _Salicornia europaea_ L., a member of the Amaranthaceae family. This is one of the most important halophytes, as it is able to use salt concentrations as high as full-strength seawater [19; 28]. Its distribution area is located from the Arctic, Mediterranean, and Subtropical regions to South Africa [30]. _Salicornia_ sp. accumulates salts and nutrients in its aerial parts [19; 30] and is suitable for culinary, pharmaceutical, and cosmetic preparations. Due to its content of bioactive compounds [31], it is an important source of food [32; 33] and is highly appreciated by consumers. The plant is used as food in different dishes (raw, cooked, or pickled), especially in northern European countries. According to the EU Novel Food Catalogue, _Salicornia_ sp. was on the market as a food or food ingredient before 15 May 1997. Depending on the country of origin, it is known under different names: marsh samphire (EN), zeekraal (NL), solirod zielny (PL), suolayrtti (FI), harilik soolarohi (ET), deniz borulcesi (TR), slanorozec evropsky (CZ), sziksoftu (HU), salikornija (LV), vrsta osocnika (SL), and glasort (SE).