Cynara cardunculus (cardoon) leaves are a rich source of bioactive compounds, such as cynaropicrin. In this work,
ethanolic pulsed ultrasound assisted extraction (EtPUAE) derived extracts obtained from cardoon leaves were
purified by membrane processing and the different fractions obtained were evaluated for their biological
potential.
A DuraMem® 200 membrane was selected for cynaropicrin recovery and removal of carbohydrates, in a
diananofiltration mode. Diananofiltration (after 5 diavolumes) followed by nanofiltration allowed for a removal
of 93.0% of glucose and 95.6% of fructose, with a cynaropicrin maximum loss of 13.9%. The fractionated extract
revealed a higher biological activity, when tested with a BJ5-ta human normal fibroblast cell line. An integrated
process is proposed, comprising an association of EtPUAE with a fractionation by diananofiltration, assuring a
pay-back period of 4.58 years, assessed through an economic evaluation.Regional Development European
Foundation and Alentejo Region Operational Program (ALENTEJO
2020) for their financial support to “MedCynaraBioTec – Selection of
Cynara cardunculus genotypes for new biotechnological applications: the
value chain improvement of cardoon, a well-adapted Mediterranean
crop Project (ALT20-03-0145-FEDER-039495). The authors acknowledge Fundaç˜
ao para a Ciˆencia e a Tecnologia for the PhD grant to Teresa
Bras ´ (SFRH/BD/110969/2015) and for the exploratory project (IF/
00505/2014/CP1224/CT0004) attributed to Luísa Neves within the
2014 FCT Investigator Programme. This work was supported by the
Associate Laboratory for Green Chemistry - LAQV which is financed by
national funds from FCT/MCTES (UIDB/50006/2020). This work was
also funded through FCT under the Project UIDB/05183/2020 to Mediterranean Institute for Agriculture Environment and Development
(MED)and by the ERDF through the COMPETE2020 - programa operacional competitividade e internacionalização (POCI) with the strategic
program UID/BIA/04050/2019 (POCI-01-0145-FEDER-007569
