Artichoke extract

Most human trials of artichoke extract measured blood lipids, blood pressure or digestion, often in people with raised cholesterol, hypertension or functional dyspepsia, and each section names the population. Results in clinical groups may not apply to healthy adults. The evidence grading method explains what each grade requires.

Does artichoke extract lower blood triglycerides?

Two meta-analyses found reductions, but the abstracts do not say how many participants were healthy [1][3]. A meta-analysis is a study that pools the results of earlier trials. In a 2018 meta-analysis of 9 randomized trials with 702 participants, artichoke extract was associated with lower triglycerides, by a weighted mean difference of 9.2 mg/dL (95% CI -16.2 to -2.1) compared with control [1]. The same analysis found lower total cholesterol (-17.6 mg/dL) and LDL cholesterol (-14.9 mg/dL), no significant change in HDL cholesterol, and a larger LDL effect in people with higher starting LDL [1]. A 2025 synthesis of controlled trials, searched to September 2024, also found lower triglycerides (WMD -12.85 mg/dL) and concluded that artichoke may offer modest improvements [3].

A third meta-analysis, which rated certainty with the GRADE approach, pooled 15 effect sizes from 14 studies [2]. It found lower LDL cholesterol (WMD -17.48 mg/dl) and no effect on HDL cholesterol [2]. Its abstract prints the same figures for triglycerides as for total cholesterol, with different p values, so we do not report its triglyceride estimate.

The trial closest to healthy adults did not find a triglyceride effect [4]. In 75 otherwise healthy adults with mild to moderate hypercholesterolemia, 1280 mg of a standardized extract daily for 12 weeks lowered total cholesterol by 4.2% while it rose 1.9% on placebo, but triglyceride, LDL and HDL levels did not differ between groups [4]. General well-being improved in both groups, with no difference between them [4]. In a 6-week trial of 143 adults with hyperlipoproteinemia, a clinical population, 1,800 mg a day of the branded CY450 extract lowered total cholesterol by 18.5% against 8.6% on placebo [5]. Triglycerides were not reported in that abstract.

Does artichoke extract affect blood pressure?

Evidence is mixed: one meta-analysis found small falls, and another found no overall effect [6][7]. A 2022 meta-analysis of 7 trials with 472 participants found lower systolic pressure (WMD -2.01 mmHg; 95% CI -3.78 to -0.24) and diastolic pressure (WMD -1.45 mmHg) with artichoke [6]. Its authors reported larger falls in systolic pressure in trials using 500 mg or less, lasting more than 8 weeks, with participants under 50, and with 70 or fewer participants, and non-linear links with dose and duration [6]. A 2025 synthesis found similar falls of 2.49 mmHg systolic and 1.53 mmHg diastolic [3].

A 2021 meta-analysis of 8 randomized trials found no overall effect on systolic (WMD -0.77 mmHg; 95% CI -2.76 to 1.22) or diastolic pressure compared with placebo [7]. A subgroup analysis suggested that systolic pressure may fall in people with hypertension (by 3.19 mmHg), with no reduction in people with fatty liver disease [7]. Results in clinical groups may not apply to healthy adults.

The individual trials we read enrolled people with hypertension [8][9]. In an 8-week trial of 40 patients with hypertension who were also taking a blood pressure medicine, 500 mg of artichoke twice daily improved body mass index compared with placebo, and the authors said more trials are needed to confirm or reject an effect on blood pressure [8]. In a 12-week trial in people with mild hypertension, diastolic pressure fell compared with placebo after 50 or 100 mg of artichoke juice concentrate [9].

Does artichoke extract affect thinking in short-term use?

Not in the one placebo-controlled trial we found [10]. In a randomized, double-blind crossover trial, 15 healthy adults aged 18 to 65 took 3 capsules of 320 mg standardized artichoke extract (LI120), or placebo, immediately before and after drinking alcohol [10]. A crossover trial gives each person both treatments in turn. Cognitive tests (a switching test, a 4-choice reaction test and an odd-man-out letter test) were run 1 hour before and 10 hours after drinking [10]. None of the outcomes, including hangover severity, mood and test results, differed significantly between artichoke and placebo [10]. The capsules and placebos were donated by Boots the Chemist, and the authors declared no competing interests [10].

The trial was small, and the tests were secondary outcomes in a hangover study, so it shows limited evidence of no effect rather than proof of none [10].

Does artichoke extract or luteolin improve memory?

The evidence is from animals only [11][12][13]. In aged mice, luteolin added to the diet for 4 weeks improved spatial working memory, and it did not change memory in young adult mice [11]. In mice fed a high-fat diet, oral luteolin at 10 mg/kg improved performance in a water maze and a step-through avoidance task [12]. In rats with experimental bile duct ligation, artichoke leaf and receptaculum extracts given for 28 days improved object recognition [13]. The mouse studies used pure luteolin, not artichoke extract [11][12].

As of November 11, 2026 we found no randomized trials of artichoke extract or luteolin on memory or attention in healthy adults (PubMed and Europe PMC search, November 11, 2026).

What the evidence does not show

The studies above do not show that artichoke extract improves focus, memory or energy in healthy people. Human luteolin trials we found tested it in clinical groups or in combinations [22][23]. In a placebo-controlled crossover screening trial in 21 male veterans with Gulf War Illness, a clinical population, luteolin did not reduce symptom severity more than placebo at either dose [22]. In 12 physically active men, a combination of luteolin and mangiferin improved sprint performance, in a study partly financed by Nektium Pharma, which supplied the compounds; luteolin was not tested alone [23].

Other trials looked at different questions. In competitive rowers, 400 mg of artichoke leaf extract three times a day for 5 weeks raised plasma antioxidant capacity but did not limit oxidative damage to red blood cells [21]. In 247 people with functional dyspepsia, a clinical population, a commercial extract improved digestive symptoms more than placebo over 6 weeks [19]. A meta-analysis of 8 trials found lower liver enzymes (AST and ALT) with artichoke than with placebo, mainly in people with fatty liver disease, a clinical population [20], and a 2025 synthesis also found lower ALT [3].

The forms studied include tablets and capsules of dry extract, juice concentrate, and leaf powder [5][8][9]. The EU monograph also covers herbal tea from dried leaves [31].

How the body handles artichoke compounds has been studied in one small human study [18]. Ten healthy volunteers took three capsules of artichoke extract 4 hours apart; the original polyphenols were not detected in urine, but the caffeic acid derivatives were absorbed and excreted as methylated phenolic acids such as ferulic and vanillic acid [18]. A review of luteolin covers its absorption, metabolism and bioavailability from food [17]. As of November 11, 2026 we found no human study measuring blood levels of luteolin after artichoke extract (PubMed search, November 11, 2026).

The EU monograph says a doctor or qualified health care practitioner should be consulted if digestive symptoms persist longer than 2 weeks during use [31]. Health Canada's monograph requires no statement on duration of use [29].

The EU monograph lists slight diarrhea with abdominal spasm, nausea and heartburn, and says allergic reactions may occur, all at unknown frequency [31]. It reports no case of overdose, and notes that adequate tests of reproductive toxicity, genotoxicity and carcinogenicity have not been performed [31]. Health Canada requires products to tell people to stop use if hypersensitivity or allergy occurs [29].

Trials reported few problems [5][10]. In the hangover trial, whose study product was donated by Boots the Chemist, adverse events were rare, mild and transient [10]. The 143-person trial of the CY450 extract reported no drug-related adverse events [5].

A laboratory paper on luteolin's PDE4 action noted that nausea, vomiting and gastric hypersecretion should be monitored when luteolin is used, a caution drawn from its enzyme profile, not from a human trial [14].

Our safety flag rests on regulator contraindications. Health Canada says not to use artichoke products if you have a bile duct obstruction [29], and the EU monograph contraindicates artichoke leaf in bile duct obstruction, cholangitis, liver disease, gallstones and allergy to plants of the Asteraceae family [31].

The EU herbal monograph lists no reported interactions with other medicines [31]. As of November 11, 2026 we found no human study of artichoke extract combined with any medicine (PubMed and Europe PMC search, November 11, 2026).

Laboratory and animal studies raise questions that have not been tested in people [24][25]. In an in vitro study of nine standardized plant extracts, including artichoke, the extracts flagged for inhibiting the drug-metabolizing enzymes CYP3A4 and CYP2D6 were red embauba and yerba mate [24]. In rats, a concentrated luteolin formulation increased blood levels of atorvastatin, a cholesterol-lowering statin, by inhibiting drug-handling enzymes and transporters [25]. That study did not use artichoke extract.

Some trials gave artichoke alongside medicines. The authors of the 2018 lipid meta-analysis suggested artichoke might increase the effect of lipid-lowering therapy in people with hyperlipidemia, which was not tested [1]. One blood pressure trial gave artichoke to people already taking captopril, and its abstract reports no interaction outcomes [8].

These sources describe what has been reported, not what is right for any individual. If you take any of these medicines, talk to your doctor or pharmacist before combining them with artichoke extract.