The Artichoke “Bianco di Pertosa”: The Enhancement of Crop Residues through Environmentally Friendly Uses

Abstract

The cultivation of the artichoke (Cynara scolymus L.) is widespread all over the world, but the largest area of cultivation is in the Mediterranean basin. It is a plant of Mediterranean origin with countless uses, whose cultivation should be preserved as agrobiodiversity, on which food safety and environmental sustainability depend. Moreover, there is the need to increase the sustainability of food systems also by recovering food loss across the supply chain and identifying ways to best utilise discharged food biomass. Effective waste management is critical to increase the environmental performance of the food system to reduce emissions, energy consumption, and waste disposal. The aims of the research were the quantification of the cultivation and processing residues of the artichoke “Bianco di Pertosa” (Salerno, Southern Italy), a plant resource that has become a driving force for the territory and their recovery, and the evaluation of the possible use in different sectors for the development of highly eco-compatible alternative products and processes. To this end, different types of determinations were carried out on heads and senescent leaves: physical measurements (diameter, height, gross and net weight of the heads, number of leaves per stem, and biomass); chemical determinations (nutritional value, humidity, ashes, proteins, crude fibres, crude fats, fatty acids, total carbohydrates, sugars, metals, and calories); and determination of the dyeing power. Results showed that the incidence of residues on the total fresh biomass was very high with values between 58.5% and 69%, confirming the high availability of biomass deriving from artichoke processing residues that can be used in various ways. In particular, the quantity of leaves was equal to 2.8 tons ha−1 in dry weight, while the residues of primary and secondary heads amounted to 1.4 tons ha−1 in dry weight. The determination of the nutritional label has highlighted a high presence of minerals, in particular, calcium, potassium, and iron; a low Na/K ratio; a high fibre content; and a favourable composition in unsaturated fatty acids. Good results were also obtained in the dyeing determination, thus making crop residues of artichoke a sought-after material for dyeing fabrics and more. These results are important to enhance territories and their resources through the development of eco-compatible processes based on the principles of a circular economy, with a low impact on the environment and safeguarding biodiversity.