Cynara cardunculus L. as a source of silymarin

In this work, the potential of Cynara cardunculus for silymarin production is studied. Different plant fractions of a crop already established for research purposes were analysed. The silymarin content of fresh lea varied between plant populations (1.35-2.66% on dry weight basis) and between the different leas of a same plant (1.46-1.81%). The silymarin content of the leaf lamina was steadier than the silymarin content of the fraction petiole + main ribs. As regards the dry biomass harvested at the end of the growth cycle, the silymarin concentration of the dry leas (1.23%) and the dry stalks (0.90%) was lower than in the fresh leas. Finally, the balance of silymarin for Cynara oil production was calculated. Cynara achenes contained 25% oil and 1.07% silymarin (dry weight basis). However, when the seed oil was extracted by cool pressing, 85% of the fruit silymarin went to the presscake according to the experiment results.