ARTICHOKE EXTRACT
Product No. P0121
Also known as Cynara scolymus and globe artichoke.
Artichoke is the name for two perennial plants of the thistle group of the sunflower (Compositae) family. One is the Jerusalem artichoke (Helianthus tuberosus). It’s potato-like tubers, most favoured as a food in Europe and China, contain inulin, a valuable source of fructose for diabetics. The tubers are also used to produce alcohol.
The other plant - most commonly thought of as the artichoke - is a native of the Mediterranean. It is the ‘French’, or ‘globe’, artichoke (Cynara scolymus) of southern Europe whose immature, globular flower heads are a popular vegetable.
In full growth, the plant spreads to cover an area about 6 feet in diameter and reaches a height of 3-4 feet. Its long, arching, deeply serrated leaves give the plant a fern-like appearance. The vegetable that we eat is actually the plant's flower bud. The edible bud is made up of a cone of short, thick-stemmed bracts. The size of the bud depends on where it is located on the plant. The largest are the ‘terminal buds’, produced at the end of the long central stems. If allowed to flower, the blossoms measure up to seven inches in diameter and are an attractive violet-blue colour.
The artichoke is one of the world's oldest medicinal plants. The ancient Egyptians placed great importance on the plant, and it can be clearly seen in Egyptian drawings involving fertility and sacrifice. It was also known to both the Greeks and the Romans. In 77 AD the Roman naturalist Pliny wrote about the artichoke and it can be read that wealthy Romans enjoyed artichokes prepared in honey and vinegar and seasoned with cumin.
Beginning about 800 AD, North African Moors began cultivating artichokes in the area of Granada, Spain. Another Arab group, the Saracens, became identified with artichokes in Sicily. This may explain why the English word artichoke is derived from the Arab, ‘al'qarshuf’ rather than from the Latin, ‘cynara’.
In natural medicine, artichoke leaves (not the part which is eaten) are used to stimulate the kidneys and to stimulate the flow of bile from the liver and gall bladder. It is traditionally classified as a ‘bitter’ and has been used to assist in digestion. The major active components of artichoke that produce these effects appears to be the sesquiterpene, lactone, cynarin and Caffeoylquinic acids.
Artichoke leaf has been shown to lower cholesterol (it is thought to interfere with cholesterol synthesis). One study showed a decrease in total cholesterol of 18.5% and LDL cholesterol by 23%, and recent clinical studies with artichoke leaf predict that this plant will become a more common primary treatment for hypercholesterolemia (high cholesterol).
Dyspepsia - a non-specific term for a variety of abdominal symptoms, including indigestion, or difficulty with digestion - is often treated with artichoke, and it is approved by the German Commission E for this purpose. It is thought that its effectiveness is due to its effects on the gallbladder and in promoting bile flow. Artichoke leaf extract also has the ability to significantly increase the number and size of bile vesicles within the liver cells, which aids digestion (especially of fatty foods) by stimulating bile secretion.
Several clinical studies have demonstrated the benefits of artichoke leaf extract in dyspepsia, a condition characterised by abdominal pain, heartburn, appetite loss, constipation, diarrhoea, nausea, and other symptoms.
Because of its ‘choleretic’ (bile flow-stimulating) effect, it has been suggested that artichoke may protect the liver from chemical toxins. A relative of milk thistle (Silybum marianum L.), artichoke leaf appears to offer similar liver protective and antioxidant benefits. In liver cell studies, artichoke extract was shown to protect liver cells from carbon tetrachloride toxicity. Artichoke also appears to stimulate tissue regeneration, numbers of binucleate liver cells, RNA content, and cell division in liver cells pre-treated with artichoke extract and then exposed to a variety of toxins in laboratory experiments.
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