In vitro evidences of the globe artichoke antioxidant, cardioprotective and neuroprotective effects

The chemical composition and in vitro biological activities of two globe artichoke varieties, Romanesco Siciliano (RS) and Spinoso Sardo (SS), were studied for their antioxidant activity and potential effects against age-related diseases. The globe artichoke extracts were subjected to three antioxidant activity tests, DPPH, ABTS and FRAP, and to the acetylcholinesterase neuro-related assay. The potential artichoke cardioprotective capacity was investigated by evaluating the inhibition of choline-d9 conversion into proatherogenic trimethylamine-d9 (TMA- d9), in an ex vivo-in vitro fecal fermentation model. In both globe artichoke varieties, the polyphenols profile was similar with chlorogenic and di-caffeoylquinic acids as the main polyphenols identified, although the amount changed with the variety (RS: 108.5; SS: 64.8 mg polyphenols/g DW). The RS sample gave the highest values of antioxidant and anti-acetylcholinesterase activities and mostly inhibited choline-d9 utilization (+28.0 % choline- d9 Area Under the Curve (AUC) compared to control), and TMA-d9 production (-31.9 % TMA-d9 AUC compared to control). All the reported results demonstrated that globe artichoke may provide potential cardioprotective, neuroprotective and antioxidant effects.