SummaryThirty standard painting layers were analysed by pyrolysis-gas chromatography/mass spectrometry (Py-GC-MS) and by Py-GC-MS in the presence of tetramethylammonium hydroxide (pyrolysis/methylation). Painting layers were prepared according to Renaissance recipes for tempera, employing proteinaceous binders (egg, glue and casein) and six different pigments. Thermal degradation products of proteins, carbohydrates and lipids were selected for semiquantitative analysis based on single/summed ion monitoring (SIM) mode. The relative distribution of these products was used to characterise binding media for the purpose of their identification in painting layers.

The¯avonoid and carotenoid contents and agronomic parameters of an Italian type of marigold (Calendula ocinalis L.) were evaluated over a 2-year trial performing two annual cuts during the¯owering period. The¯avonoids and carotenoids of the marigold petals were characterized by HPLC with a photodiode array detector. The number of ower heads per plant and the yield of heads and petals were always higher in the second cut, but the pigment content greatly diered in the 2 years. Glycosides of quercetin and isorhamnetin were the predominant components of thē avonoids, while b-carotene and lutein were the most abundant carotenoids.