Yield, mineral and polyphenolic composition of two seed-propagated globe artichoke cultivars

Globe artichoke (Cynara cardunculus var. scolymus L. Fiori) is a traditional component of the Mediterranean diet, it is considered a rich source of phenolic compounds. Globe artichoke production is traditionally based on vegetatively propagated varietal types. As for pathologic and economic disadvantages of the former multiplication method, Italian artichoke breeding programs have produced some potential seed propagated hybrids. An experiment was conducted to assess the yield, mineral and polyphenolic profiles of two potential seed-propagated F1 hybrid 'Istar' and 'Romolo'. The artichoke yield recorded on 'Romolo' was significantly higher by 33% in comparison to 'Istar'. The N and K concentrations were significantly lower by 25.5% and higher by 10.1%, respectively, in 'Romolo' in comparison to 'Istar'. Among the macronutrients studied, K was the mineral with the higher concentration, with a mean of 24.9 g kg-1 dw. In addition, the Na concentration and Na/K ratio observed in both cultivars were low. Amongst the caffeoylquinic acids, 5-O-caffeoylquinic acid and 1,5-diO-caffeoylquinic acid were the main compounds. The remaining caffeoylquinic acids (i.e., 1- and 3-O-caffeoylquinic acids, 3,4-, 3,5- and 4,5-di-O-caffeoylquinic acids) were minor compounds in the analyzed samples. Regarding the cultivar effect, the 5-O-caffeoylquinic acid, apigenin 7-O-glucoronide, total caffeoylquinic acids, total apigenin derivatives, were significantly higher in 'Romolo' by 23.1, 180.0, 20.5, and 149.5%, respectively, in comparison to 'Istar', suggesting that specific cultivar should be selected to obtain the desired profile of bioactive compounds. Overall, the seed-propagated cultivars can represent a suitable alternative to the vegetative propagated ones, thus opening new perspectives for the artichoke production.