Thistle is an endemic Mediterranean plant that does not need irrigation and grows on dry, abandoned and uncultivated land. It provides oil and biomass that can be exploited to produce environmentally friendly bio-based products. Every part of the thistle can be used; oil is extracted from the seed, and cellulose and hemicellulose are obtained from the biomass. During the extraction of the oil a high protein flour that could replace the soybean currently used to feed dairy animals is also obtained, as well as active molecules to be used in the field of nutraceuticals.
Within FIRST2RUN project low input and underutilized oil crops (i.e. cardoon) grown in arid and/or marginal lands and not in competition with food or feed, are exploited for the extraction of vegetable oils to be further converted into bio-monomers (mainly pelargonic and azelaic acids) as building blocks for high added value bioproducts, biolubricants, cosmetics, bioplastics, additives through the integration of chemical and biotechnological processes.