Artichoke and Cynar liqueur: Two (not quite) entangled proteomes

Combinatorial peptide ligand libraries (CPLLs) have been adopted to investigate the proteome of artichoke exts., of a home-made alc. 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 com. aperitif via a three-pronged attack. First, different extn. 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 com. 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 anal. 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 exts., 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 com. drinks in order to protect consumers from adulterated products