Artichoke extract and gut bacteria in lab tests
What it found
In lab tests, an artichoke extract boosted bifidobacteria about 25-fold and raised short-chain fatty acids.
The extract also lowered pH and increased gas pressure.
What they found
Animal and lab studies
Bifidobacteria increase
After 24 and 48 hours, bifidobacteria levels rose about 25-fold with the artichoke extract and over 100-fold with FOS, compared to the blank. These were lab tests using human fecal samples.
Lactobacillus and other bacteria
Lactobacillus levels only tended to increase with the artichoke extract, while FOS raised them about 10-fold. The extract also increased Bacteroidetes at 48 hours and Firmicutes at 24 hours.
Short-chain fatty acids
Acetate, propionate, and total short-chain fatty acids increased significantly with both the artichoke extract and FOS at all time points. Butyrate increased only with FOS after 24 and 48 hours.
pH and gas pressure
pH dropped with both the artichoke extract and FOS by 6 hours and stayed low. Gas pressure rose significantly with both, and was higher with FOS than with the extract.
Protein fermentation markers
After 48 hours, branched short-chain fatty acids and ammonium were lower with the artichoke extract and especially with FOS compared to the blank. This suggests less protein fermentation.
What the authors conclude
“AADE displayed prebiotic potential by exerting bifidogenic effects that stimulated production of health-related microbial metabolites, which is potentially due to inulin in AADE.”
Also in their conclusions
- They say the artichoke extract showed promising prebiotic potential in this lab model.
- They note that the extract increased beneficial microbes and this matched its metabolite profile.
- They call for future studies using multiple doses and upgraded models to confirm these findings.
How it was done
The authors wanted to see if an artichoke extract could act as a prebiotic, feeding helpful gut bacteria. They note that prebiotics may help with metabolic disorders linked to gut bacteria imbalances.
They used a lab model of the human gut (SHIME) with fecal samples from one healthy donor. They fermented the artichoke extract, fructo-oligosaccharides (FOS), or a blank for 48 hours and measured bacteria and metabolites at 0, 6, 24, and 48 hours.
What it can’t tell you
- This was a lab test using fecal samples from one person, so it cannot show what happens in the human gut.
- The study lasted only 48 hours, so it cannot show the effects of long-term use.
- The results cannot prove that the extract causes health benefits in people.
Who paid
- Conflicts
- A.V., A.Z., and E.R. are employed by Euromed S.A. The study funders (Euromed S.A.) had no role in the design, collection, or analysis of the data.
- Authors work at
- Ghent University, Belgium; Swinburne University, Australia; Universitat de Barcelona, Spain
The paper
- Title
- In Vitro Evaluation of Prebiotic Properties of a Commercial Artichoke Inflorescence Extract Revealed Bifidogenic Effects
- Type
- Study
- Evidence
- Animals and lab studies
- Summarised from
- Full text
- Licence
- CC BY. Words in quotation marks are the authors’; the rest is our summary.
- Cite
- Van den Abbeele P, Ghyselinck J, Marzorati M, et al (2020). In Vitro Evaluation of Prebiotic Properties of a Commercial Artichoke Inflorescence Extract Revealed Bifidogenic Effects. Nutrients. doi:10.3390/nu12061552Free full textPubMed 32466615DOI
Summary written 30 Sep 2026. Check it against the paper before it changes what you eat. How we summarise papers · Report an error