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Suaeda fruticosa is an edible medicinal species belonging to the Amaranthaceae (Chenopodiaceae) family widely distributed in the Mediterranean regions, especially in Tunisia. This species shoots change their colour from green to red-violet along the different seasons, being an interesting matrix to study for its chemical composition. Therefore, in a ground-breaking study, the hydromethanolic extracts of green and red-violet Tunisian S. fruticosa shoots were profiled for their individual phenolic compounds and betalains by High Performance Liquid Chromatography coupled with a Diode-Array Detector and Mass Spectrometry by Electrospray Ionization (HPLC-DAD/ESI-MS), and the in vitro antioxidant, antibacterial, and hepatotoxic properties were also assessed. The obtained results revealed that the hydromethanolic extracts contain interesting levels of phenolic compounds especially O -glycosylated and acylated flavonoids, while betacyanins were the main betalain compounds found. As expected, red-violet shoots were richer in phenolic compounds (45.5 ± 0.2 mg/g extract) and betalains (33.3 ± 0.2 mg/g extract) than greener shoots. Flavonoid/betalains rich extracts presented lower EC 50 values for ABTS+, DPPH, and TBARS; as also lower MIC values against Gram-positive bacteria. This study showed that the wild halophyte growing in a hard environment, were drought and salinity are dominant, is an important source of flavonoids and betanin, important molecules that can find application in different industries, given the constant demands for natural bioactives and colouring compounds. Overall, these natural compounds may be valorised and further investigated to validate their potential as functional ingredients. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

• The nutritional profile of studied halophytes shoots were not previously reported. • The claim "high fiber" could be applied to the studied halophytes. • PUFA were the main fatty acids found in analysed halophytes. • Phenotypic stages differences could be related to salinity stress tolerance. Wild halophytes are traditionally consumed in Tunisia as gourmet vegetables due to their salty taste and organoleptic proprieties. However, their nutritional composition is not deeply studied. The aim of this study was to characterize three Tunisian wild halophytic species (Arthrocnemum indicum (Willd.) Moq, Halocnemum strobilaceum (Pall.) M. Bieb., and Suaeda fruticosa Forssk) at two different phenotypic stages according to the seasonal variation. Amaranthaceae , is one of the well spread halophytes family shrubs in the world, mainly in Mediterranean countries. The studied wild halophytes are an interesting source of nutrients and could be considered as healthy foods with high levels of dietary fibers (7.63–10.14 g/100 g fw), protein (2.45–4.14 g/100 g fw), n-3 polyunsaturated fatty acids in green phenotypic stage (29.87 %–40.5 %) and n-6 polyunsaturated fatty acids in red-violet phenotypic stage (25.4 %–75.26 %), with particular relevance to linolenic acid content (20.7 %–75.22 %). These halophytes are also a good source of minerals, particularly sodium, calcium, potassium and magnesium, as well as vitamins C and E, with a major abundance of α-tocopherol. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]