Contents lists available at ScienceDirect Industrial Crops & Products journal homepage: www.elsevier.com/locate/indcrop Valorizing overlooked local crops in the era of globalization: the case of aniseed (Pimpinella anisum L.) from Castignano (central Italy) Romilde Iannarelli a, ⁎ , Giovanni Caprioli a , Stefania Sut b , Stefano Dall’Acqua b , Dennis Fiorini c , Sauro Vittori a , Filippo Maggi a a School of Pharmacy, University of Camerino, Camerino, Italy b Department of Pharmaceutical and Pharmacological Sciences, University of Padova, Padova, Italy c School of Science and Technology, University of Camerino, Camerino, Italy ARTICLE INFO Keywords: Pimpinella anisum Castignano Essential oil (E)-Anethole Anisi fructus Phenolic compounds ABSTRACT In the era of globalization, some local crops are at risk of extinction due to low competitiveness against products coming from foreign markets. This is the case of aniseed (Pimpinella anisum) from Castignano (Marche, central Italy), which was extensively cultivated in central Italy in the XIX century then abandoned after the global market favored products manufactured in Middle East countries. In order to support scientifically the recovery of this local crop, we performed a phytochemical investigation on the essential oil and polar compounds of aniseed cultivated in different fields of Castignano in the years 2013–2015 with the aim to demonstrate its high-quality value. For the purpose, the ‘Castignano ecotype’ samples were compared for essential oil yield, (E)-anethole levels and phenolic content with commercial samples of the Mediterranean area. Furthermore, several phenolic compounds were characterized by HPLC–MS n . Results showed that aniseed cultivated in Castignano contains higher content of essential oil and phenolic compounds than commercial samples, and provided the scientific rationale for its complete recovery and valorization. 1. Introduction Pimpinella anisum L., also known as ‘aniseed’, is an annual herb belonging to the Apiaceae family and native to the eastern Mediterranean area and southwestern Asia (Pignatti, 1982). The plant possesses an erect stem, up to 50 cm high, rough and branched. The leaves are alternate and heteromorphic. The inflorescence is a terminal umbel composed of small hermaphrodite white flowers. The fruit, improperly called ‘seed’ for its small dimensions, is a greenish gray schizocarp, similar to rice grain, 4 mm in diameter, of pleasant smell, ripening in July-August, just one month after flowering. The plant is endowed with secretory channels and vittae containing the main secondary metabolites such as essential oil and phenolic compounds which are mainly concentrated into the fruit (Tabanca et al., 2006). Aniseed has been used in the Mediterranean folk medicine, like stomachic, digestive, carminative, expectorant, antitussive, anti-spas- modic, galactogogue, diuretic and diaphoretic agent (Shojaaii and Ford, 2012; Idolo et al., 2010; Leporatti and Ivancheva, 2003). Nowadays, aniseed is employed as flavouring of alcoholic (e.g., brandy and liquers) and non-alcoholic beverages and as ingredient in bakery (e.g., bread, donuts, cookies), confectionery (e.g., candies, cakes), oral hygiene (e.g., toothpaste), perfumery and herbal (e.g., digestive teas) products (Leung and Foster, 2003). In particular, the liqueurs manufactured with aniseed extracts and/or essential oil have a long tradition in the Mediterranean countries, namely the Italian ‘anisetta’, ‘sambuca’ and ‘mistrà’, the French ‘anisette’ and ‘pastis’, the Greek ‘ouzo’ and ‘mastik’, the Turkish ‘raki’ and the Lebaneese ‘arak’. On a pharmaceutical level, aniseed is used as a flavor enhancer of medical preparations. In this regard, European Pharmacopoeia reports the aniseed (Anisi fructus) epicarp of P. anisum which contains not less than 2% of essential oil (European Pharmacopoeia, 2005). The main constituent of aniseed essential oil is the phenylpropanoid (E)-anethole, present in concentrations of 75–95%, accompanied by minor amounts of methyl chavicol, p-anisaldehyde, γ-himachalene, α-zingiberene, (E)- pseudoisoeugenyl 2-methylbutyrate and epoxy-pseudoisoeugenyl 2- methylbutyrate (Boelens, 1991; Kubeczka and Ullmann, 1980; Tabanca et al., 2006). (E)-anethole is the key component assuring the aromatic and sweetener properties of aniseed and exerting stomachic, carminative, antispasmodic and expectorant effects (Kang et al., 2013). The best quality aniseed essential oils are considered those manufac- tured in Italy, Spain, Malta, France and Tunisia (Catizone et al., 1986). The estimated cost of manufacturing for essential oil is about 51 $/kg, http://dx.doi.org/10.1016/j.indcrop.2017.04.028 Received 3 February 2017; Received in revised form 24 March 2017; Accepted 17 April 2017 ⁎ Corresponding author at: School of Pharmacy, University of Camerino, via S. Agostino 1, 62032, Camerino, Italy. E-mail address: romilde.iannarelli@unicam.it (R. Iannarelli). Industrial Crops & Products 104 (2017) 99–110 0926-6690/ © 2017 Elsevier B.V. All rights reserved. MARK