In the present study petioles were collected from cultivated cardoon (Cynara cardunculus L. var altilis) plants in
central Greece at sixteen harvest dates (samples P1-P16) and nine growth stages (principal growth stages (PGS)
1–9). The main objective of this study was to study the influence of petioles’ growth cycle on their chemical
composition. The lipidic content, fatty acids, free sugars, organic acids, and tocopherol composition were
analyzed. A total of 27 fatty acids were identified, being the palmitic acid (C16:0, 12.42–50%) the most abundant,
except for samples P4 and P5 where linoleic acid revealed the highest relative abundance (C18:2n6c, 46.5
and 39.05%, respectively). The α-, β-, and γ-tocopherols were the identified isoforms of vitamin E, with sample
P1 recording the highest tocopherol content. The detected organic acids were oxalic, quinic, malic, citric, and
fumaric acids with the highest content being observed in sample P1. Sucrose was the major sugar in all the
analyzed samples, followed by fructose, glucose, trehalose, and raffinose. The obtained results allowed us to
characterize the chemical composition of cardoon petioles throughout its growth cycle and, consequently, to
valorize the species through the exploitation of underutilized plant tissues.
