Artichoke (Cynara cardunculus var. scolymus L.) by-products as a source of inulin: how to valorise an agricultural supply chain extracting an added-value compound.

This study is aimed at valorizing artichoke (Cynara cardunculus var. scolymus L.) by-products as source of inulin, a fiber showing relevant prebiotic properties, through the realization of a waste value chain. Starting from artichoke by-products, the inulin fraction was assessed both in terms of total amount and degree of polymerization as a function of the harvest season and storage conditions. These parameters have been found significant at influencing inulin yield of extraction. For the first time, artichoke wastes were proposed to be exploited taking into account the optimal conditions to preserve their high-added chemical value. Our data suggest that Italian farms could obtain from their wastes a total amount of 16 t/year of inulin with an average polymerization degree higher than 40 and would allow the development of a circular economy process within the artichoke supply chain, by exploiting its wastes representing 70% of the total artichoke biomass.

Extraction and Characterization of Inulin-Type Fructans from Artichoke Wastes and Their Effect on the Growth of Intestinal Bacteria Associated with Health.

Globe artichoke is an intriguing source of indigestible sugar polymers such as inulin-type fructans. In this study, the effect of ultrasound in combination with ethanol precipitation to enhance the extraction of long chain fructans from artichoke wastes has been evaluated. The inulin-type fructans content both from bracts and stems was measured using an enzymatic fructanase-based assay, while its average degree of polymerization (DP) was determined by HPLC-RID analysis. Results show that this method provides artichoke extracts with an inulin-type fructans content of 70% with an average DP between 32 and 42 both in bracts and in stems. The prebiotic effect of long chain inulins from artichoke extract wastes was demonstrated by its ability to support the growth of five Lactobacillus and four Bifidobacterium species, previously characterized as probiotics. Besides, we considered the possibility to industrialize the process developing a simpler method for the production of inulin-type fructans from the artichoke wastes so that the artichoke inulin preparation could be suitable for its use in synbiotic formulations in combination with different probiotics for further studies including in vivo trials.