20 May The PGI rocket from the Sele Plain is good for the heart and has aphrodisiac properties.
The “Eruca Salax” rocket doesn’t cease to amaze: besides its well-known aphrodisiac properties, it is also good for the heart. From the rocket grown in the Sele plain, in the province of Salerno, a drug to combat hypertension and cardiovascular diseases can be extracted, confirming it as a true “superfood.”
The Campania Region has indeed given the green light to the project presented for measure 16 of the PSR, which involves the Consortium for the Protection of the Sele Plain PGI, three pilot agricultural companies, the Saccone Foundation, and ENG4LIFE, a spin-off of the University of Salerno, within the broader scope of the operation of the regional Agricultural Knowledge and Innovation Systems (AKIS) for knowledge exchange and diffusion of innovations.
The objective is to experiment with the extraction of “4-methylthio butyl isothiocyanate,” better known as “erucin,” an active ingredient with exceptional anti-hypertensive and vasodilatory properties. The extraction will be carried out through the processing of rocket processing waste, dried and subjected to ultrasound, using ethanol as a solvent. The project’s result will be the valorization of rocket waste, utilizing almost 100% of the entire production and introducing to the market a highly potential active ingredient in cosmetics, nutraceuticals, and pharmacology.
The project aims to first experiment with the extraction process in the laboratory and then with a prototype on a larger scale. The implementation of the idea will be followed by a widespread activity of dissemination and awareness of the results, in order to make the process available to all stakeholders in the sector and develop an additional entrepreneurial line.
“With this project,” states Vito Busillo, President of the Consortium for the Protection of the Sele Plain PGI, “we offer further expansion to the potential of this extraordinary product, which promotes health and meets environmental sustainability requirements. We have already introduced electric machinery for field processing, reducing emissions. Today, with the erucin project, we will also be able to eliminate waste entirely. The Consortium’s ambition is to lead the participating companies to exceed 400 million euros in aggregated turnover in the near future and to position ourselves in a few years among the top ten Italian PDO and PGI agri-food products.”
