Artichoke

Studies in people

• Benefit

  Blood pressure³

  In people with high blood pressure, artichoke supplements may lower blood pressure, but this finding is not certain.

• Benefit

  Cholesterol levels⁴

  In studies of people, artichoke supplements lowered total cholesterol, LDL and triglycerides, but not HDL.

• Benefit

  Waist size⁵

  In people, artichoke supplements slightly shrank waist size, but weight and BMI barely changed.

• Benefit

  Heart and blood sugar health⁶

  In adults, artichoke supplements modestly improved cholesterol, blood pressure, blood sugar handling and liver markers.

• Benefit

  Blood sugar levels⁷

  In people, taking artichoke supplements lowered fasting blood sugar, but other blood sugar measures stayed about the same.

• Benefit

  Blood sugar and insulin⁸

  In people with a certain gene type, artichoke leaf extract lowered insulin and insulin resistance.

• Benefit

  Blood vessel health⁹

  In people with high cholesterol, drinking artichoke juice daily improved blood vessel function and lowered cholesterol.

• Benefit

  Antioxidant blood markers¹⁰

  In people with metabolic syndrome, artichoke leaf extract lowered one blood marker, oxidized-LDL, but not other antioxidant markers.

Animal and lab studies only

• Open question

  Gut absorption of plant material¹²

  In lab studies, artichoke miRNAs were not taken up by human intestinal cells after cooking and digestion.

• Benefit

  Gut bacteria¹³

  In lab studies, artichoke extract helped good gut bacteria grow, though less than the standard prebiotic.

Study type not stated

• Benefit

  Liver and heart health¹¹

  Artichoke may help the liver, heart and digestion, but scientists do not yet know how it works in people.

How it’s made and used

• How much the body absorbs¹⁴

  In lab studies, only a tiny fraction of artichoke polyphenols passed through intestinal cells.

The signal at the top counts the findings in people and in animal and lab studies. A concern in studies of people outranks animal and lab studies, and “No concerns” needs at least one finding in people. When most findings in people point one way, the page leans that way (“Mostly”), and every finding is still shown. Findings whose study type is not stated are shown but not counted. This page is a reference, not medical advice. It describes what regulators and published research say. Talk to a doctor or dietitian about your own diet.