Artichoke, cultivated cardoon, and their common relative, the wild cardoon
are botanical varieties of the species Cynara cardunculus L., a perennial plant native to
the Mediterranean Basin and belonging to the Asteraceae family. While commonly
used as food, leaf extracts of this plants have been traditionally used as a natural
remedy in folk medicine. These plants are in fact a rich source of bioactive compounds
such as polyphenols, inulin, and sesquiterpene lactones. Many studies demonstrated
that these compounds and their metabolites are responsible for several beneficial
properties attributed to the extracts of artichoke and cardoon. As we gain knowledge on
the effects and mode of action of these compounds, artichoke and cardoon are
considered ‘functional food’ and are increasingly used to extract bioactive compounds
and for numerous pharmaceutical applications. In this chapter, after a brief introduction
on the origin and the importance of these crops, each class of bioactive compounds is
presented summarizing the specific chemical properties, the biosynthesis, and the
concentration range in plant tissues. The third section discusses the main factors (plant
portion, physiological stage, plant genotype, environment, pre-harvest agronomic
practices, post-harvest handling and processing) influencing the concentration of
bioactive compounds in artichoke and cardoon. The following section is focused on the
physiological fate of the bioactive compounds, reviewing the results of the most recent
in vitro and in vivo studies conducted to assess their bioaccessibility, bioavailability,
and pharmacokinetics. Finally, in the last section the main health-promoting effects
attributed to artichoke and cardoon polyphenols are reviewed.
Keywords: Anticancer, Anti-inflammatory, Antioxidant, Artichoke, Bioaccessibility,
Bioavailability, Biological activity, Cynara cardunculus, Cardoon,
Cynarin, Cynaropicrin, Flavonoids, Functional foods, Hepatoprotective, Hypocholesterolemic, Hypoglycemic, Inulin, Pharmacokinetic, Polyphenols,
Sesquiterpene lactones.
