Artichoke Leaf

What it is

Artichoke leaf extract is a concentrated preparation of the leaves of the plant Cynara scolymus [1]. The trials tested standardised capsule or tablet extracts [2][3].

What the research says

Indigestion: one placebo-controlled trial of 247 people with functional dyspepsia (244 analysed) found greater symptom and quality-of-life improvement with the extract than with placebo over six weeks [2]. An uncontrolled study of 454 people saw symptoms fall, but without a control group it cannot show a cause [4].

Cholesterol: a 2018 meta-analysis of nine trials (702 people) found LDL about 14.9 mg/dL lower and total cholesterol about 17.6 mg/dL lower, with no HDL change [5]. A 2025 meta-analysis found LDL about 10 mg/dL and total cholesterol about 12 mg/dL lower [6]. Single trials disagree: a 12-week trial of 75 people found no LDL difference from placebo [1], and a 2025 trial of a bergamot, plant-sterol and artichoke combination found no LDL change [7]. One 92-person trial reported higher HDL [8].

Doses used in studies

For indigestion, two 320 mg doses three times a day for six weeks [2]. For cholesterol, 1,280 mg a day of a standardised extract for 12 weeks [1], and 250 mg twice a day for eight weeks in another trial [8]. These are study doses, not recommendations.

Safety and interactions

Side effects: a two-month trial in 100 people with fatty liver disease reported no side effects [9]. A combination trial found no change in liver or kidney blood markers [10]. Upper safe doses and toxic doses: no data found. Interactions with medicines, including blood thinners, diabetes and blood pressure drugs: no trial data found. Pregnancy and breastfeeding: no data found. Kidney disease and bleeding disorders: no trial data found; the fatty liver trial above is the only one in people with a liver condition. Ask a doctor before use, especially if you take regular medicines.

Caveats and open questions

Most cholesterol trials enrolled fewer than 100 people and ran for 4 to 16 weeks [1][8][7][10]. Several used combination products with red yeast rice, policosanol, bergamot or plant sterols, so their results cannot be credited to artichoke alone [10][11][12][13]. Three authors of the 2021 bergamot combination trial are employees of Indena [13]. Trials in fatty liver disease are small and aimed at liver fat, not these two uses; they report lower liver enzymes [14]. The indigestion trial used a commercial preparation, so results may not carry over to other brands [2].