Spanish artichoke

The signature compound of the plant, associated with choleretic (bile-stimulating), hepatoprotective and lipid-lowering actions; part of the caffeoylquinic acid complex responsible for much of the biological activity.

Antioxidant phenolic acid with reported effects on lipid metabolism, glucose handling and hepatic fat accumulation.

Antioxidant and anti-inflammatory flavones; luteolin can inhibit cholesterol biosynthesis, contributing to the hypocholesterolaemic activity of leaf extracts.

Responsible for the characteristic bitterness that stimulates bile flow and digestion; also shows anti-inflammatory and cytotoxic activity in laboratory studies.

Antioxidant phenolic acid contributing to the overall free-radical-scavenging and hepatoprotective effects.

A prebiotic dietary fibre that supports gut microbiota and contributes to the food and digestive uses of cardoon and artichoke.

Dry aqueous or hydroalcoholic leaf extracts standardised to caffeoylquinic acids (as chlorogenic acid) or cynarin are taken in divided doses (commonly 300-640 mg two to three times daily) for dyspepsia and mild hyperlipidaemia. Avoid in bile duct obstruction or gallstones and in known Asteraceae allergy.

An infusion or ethanolic tincture of the bitter leaf is taken shortly before meals as a digestive bitter and mild choleretic. The intense bitterness is part of the intended effect.

The immature flower heads (globe artichoke) and blanched leaf stalks (cardoon) are cooked as vegetables. They are a source of inulin and phenolics but contain far lower concentrations of active constituents than standardised leaf extracts.

Twelve weeks of standardised artichoke leaf extract (1280 mg/day) produced a small but statistically significant fall in plasma total cholesterol relative to placebo in otherwise healthy adults with mild-to-moderate hypercholesterolaemia.

Pooling the available randomised trials, the review found that artichoke leaf extract can produce modest reductions in total cholesterol, while noting the small number and modest quality of trials and calling for larger, more rigorous studies.

Six weeks of 1800 mg/day standardised artichoke leaf extract significantly reduced total and LDL cholesterol compared with placebo in patients with hyperlipoproteinaemia, with reductions of roughly 18% and 23% respectively in the active group.

Greek and Roman writers including Dioscorides and Pliny described the cultivated cardoon/artichoke (kaktos, carduus) as a food and a remedy, including use of the root and leaf and a belief that it aided the digestion and sweetened the breath and urine.

Records the carduus as a prized, costly cultivated vegetable of the Romans, cultivated in gardens around Carthage and Cordoba.

Herbalists described the artichoke as strengthening the stomach and as a liver and digestive remedy, foreshadowing the modern use of the leaf as a choleretic bitter.