title: Artichoke and Cynar liqueur: two (not quite) entangled proteomes.
abstract: Combinatorial peptide ligand libraries (CPLLs) have been adopted to investigate the proteome of artichoke extracts, of a home-made alcoholic infusion and of the Italian Cynar liqueur. The aim of study was not only to perform the deepest investigation so far of the artichoke proteome but also to assess the genuineness of the commercial aperitif via a three-pronged attack. First, different extraction techniques have been used for the characterization of the artichoke's proteome, secondly a home-made infusion has been analyzed and finally the proteome of the commercial drink was checked. The artichoke proteome has been evaluated via prior capture with CPLLs at four different pH (2.2, 4.0, 7.2 and 9.3) values. Via mass spectrometry analysis of the recovered fractions, after elution of the captured populations in 4% boiling SDS, we could identify a total of 876 unique gene products in the artichoke extracts, 18 in the home-made infusion and no proteins at all in the Italian Cynar liqueur, casting severe doubts on the procedure stated by the manufacturer (that should be made by an infusion of artichoke leaves plus thirteen different herbs). This could be the starting point for investigating the genuineness and natural origin of commercial drinks in order to protect consumers from adulterated products.
authors.affiliation: Departament de Química Analítica, Facultat de Química, Universitat de València, Dr. Moliner 50, 46100 Burjassot, Spain.
authors.forename: Vicente
authors.initials: V
authors.lastname: Saez
authors.forename: Elisa
authors.initials: E
authors.lastname: Fasoli
authors.forename: Alfonsina
authors.initials: A
authors.lastname: D'Amato
authors.forename: Ernesto
authors.initials: E
authors.lastname: Simó-Alfonso
authors.forename: Pier Giorgio
authors.initials: PG
authors.lastname: Righetti
mesh_terms: D001628:Beverages / Q000032:analysis*; D031943:Cynara scolymus / Q000737:chemistry*; D005504:Food Analysis / Q000379:methods*; D019151:Peptide Library; D010936:Plant Extracts / Q000737:chemistry*; D020543:Proteome
chemical_list: D019151:Peptide Library; D010936:Plant Extracts; D020543:Proteome