Introduction. Jerusalem artichoke (Helianthus tuberosus L.) is grown primarily for its edible tubers, which were first cultivated by native Americans before the arrival of the Europeans. Unlike most tubers, but in common with other members of the Asteraceae, the tubers store fructans instead of starch. Fructans are non-digestible carbohydrates considered functional food ingredients because they...

background and aims: artichoke (cynara scolymus l.) is a plant of the asteraceae family. this plant is used in herbal medicine. this study was conducted to evaluate the effect of artichokeextract on insulin, glucagon, glucose, alkaline phosphatase (alp), alanine amino transferase (alt) and aspartate amino transferase (ast) in streptozotocin-induced diabetic rats. methods: in this experimental s...

The target of this research project was a feasibility study for the development of a robot for automatic or semi-automatic artichoke harvesting. During this project, different solutions for the mechanical parts of the machine, its control system and the harvesting tools were investigated. Moreover, in cooperation with the department DISPA of University of Catania, different field structures wit...

Nitric oxide (NO) produced by endothelial nitric-oxide synthase (eNOS) represents an antithrombotic and anti-atherosclerotic principle in the vasculature. Hence, an enhanced expression of eNOS in response to pharmacological interventions could provide protection against cardiovascular diseases. In EA.hy 926 cells, a cell line derived from human umbilical vein endothelial cells (HUVECs), an arti...

Effect of Methanol and Titanium Dioxide Nanoparticles on Phytochemical Properties Artichoke (Cynara scolymus L.)

Results of a field study carried out at Trinitapoli (Puglia region, southern Italy) on the irrigation of an artichoke crop with three types of water (secondary-treated wastewater, SW; tertiary-treated wastewater, TW; and freshwater, FW) are reported. Physical, chemical and microbiological analyses were performed on the irrigation water, and on soil and yield samples. The levels of most of the c...

Soluble peroxidases (SP), and ionically (IBP) and covalently (CBP) bound peroxidases were extracted from leaves and edible part of artichoke heads (heart). The peroxidase (POD) forms showed a characteristic electrophoretic pattern; in particular SP and IBP forms showed nearly the same pattern, while CBP was quite different. Several basic and acid POD isoforms were present in SP and CBP forms, w...

Soluble (SP), ionically bound (IBP) and covalently bound (CBP) peroxidases (POD) from artichoke leaves and heads have been characterized for the main biochemical parameters. The three PODs, in both leaves and heads, showed the major apparent catalytic efficiency (vmax,app/Km,app) towards ferulic acid, even though, in some cases, they showed higher affinity (Km,app) for other substrates. In leav...