Piriformospora indica, a cultivable root colonizing endophytic fungus of Sebacinales, promotes plant growth and confers resistance against biotic and abiotic stress. The fungus has also the ability to colonize the roots of many varieties of plant species. The goal of present study was to clarify the colonization ability of P.indica in artichoke roots and the respond of plant to water stress. Re...

The structural stability of cardosin A, a plant aspartic proteinase (AP) from Cynara cardunculus L., has been investigated by high-sensitivity differential scanning calorimetry, intrinsic fluorescence and circular dichroism spectroscopy, and enzymatic activity assays. Even though the thermal denaturation of cardosin A is partially irreversible, valid thermodynamic data can be obtained within a ...

This work describes a micropropagation protocol for plants of Cynara scolymus cv. Early French, employing cyclodextrins during the rhizogenesis stage. Shoot apices were established in basic culture medium consisting of Murashige Skoog mineral salts modified by 50% reduction in NH4NO3 and KNO3, Heller's micronutrients, Gamborg's vitamins, 100 mg l ÿ1 myo-inositol, 30 g lÿ1 saccharose and 8.0 g l...

Cynara cardunculus L. is a species native to the Mediterranean basin that comprises 2 crops, globe artichoke (var. scolymus L.) and cultivated cardoon (var. altilis DC), as well as wild cardoon (var. sylvestris (Lamk) Fiori). Globe artichoke represents an important component of the South European agricultural economy but is also cultivated in North Africa, the Near East, South America, the Unit...

This paper presents results about the determination of chemical composition of a new annual plant (Cynara cardunculus L. or Cardoon in English) growing in Portugal at experimental scale. Two raw materials were studied. The first one concerns over mature crops collected in 1996, whereas the second one was collected at the right time in 1997. The Klason lignin content of the first raw material wa...

Ras cheeses were manufactured using aqueous extract of globe artichoke or artichoke flowers (Cynara scolymus) proteinase as coagulant were compared to calf rennet. There were slight differences between chemical composition of cheese made using vegetable coagulants or calf rennet. Cheeses manufactured with artichoke extract as coagulant exhibited higher (p < 0.05) levels of water soluble nitroge...

The artichoke by-products from the canning industry are mainly used for silage, being minimally revaluated. The ways of extraction of by-products of artichoke into fiber-rich powders modify their industrial applications in biscuits, as the sensory evaluation may change compared with the reference fiber (Pea fiber, P) used with commercial biscuit. In this sensory study biscuits enriched with fib...