Skip to content
Deals

Artichoke extract and blood pressure: grade C

Limited evidence. Direction: No effect.

C Limited

Educational guidance, not medical advice

Why this grade

Rubric condition met: Meta-analyses disagree, and the positive subgroup is a clinical population; conservative reading of mixed evidence

A 2022 meta-analysis of 7 trials (472 participants) and a 2025 synthesis found small falls in systolic and diastolic pressure, but a 2021 meta-analysis of 8 trials found no effect overall, with reductions only in the subgroup with hypertension and none in people with fatty liver disease. The individual trials enrolled people with hypertension, and one small trial reported a change in body mass index but not a clear blood pressure difference in its abstract. Evidence is mixed and comes mainly from clinical groups, so the proposal is C with direction none.

How we grade evidence

Studies this grade rests on

EffectMixedNo effectSize shows participants (n)200520102015202020252030Meta-analysisRCTAmini 2022, 2022: meta-analysis, n = 472, result not recordedArdalani 2020, 2020: RCT, n = 40, result not recordedRoghani-Dehkordi 2009, 2009: RCT, n not recorded, result not recordedMoradi 2021, 2021: meta-analysis, n not recorded, result not recordedJafari 2025, 2025: meta-analysis, n not recorded, result not recorded
each study this grade rests on, by publication year and design. Solid: effect versus the comparator; half-filled: mixed; hollow: no effect; dashed: result not recorded yet. Larger marks had more participants.
Show the numbers
StudyYearDesignParticipantsResult
Roghani-Dehkordi 20092009RCTnot recordedresult not recorded
Ardalani 20202020RCT40result not recorded
Moradi 20212021meta-analysisnot recordedresult not recorded
Amini 20222022meta-analysis472result not recorded
Jafari 20252025meta-analysisnot recordedresult not recorded

Artichoke leaf juice contains antihypertensive effect in patients with mild hypertension.

Roghani-Dehkordi F, Kamkhah AF. Artichoke leaf juice contains antihypertensive effect in patients with mild hypertension J Diet Suppl, 2009. PMID 22435514

Result not recorded
Design
Randomized, placebo-controlled trial (12 weeks, 3 arms)
Population
People with mild hypertension (clinical population)
Funding
not stated in the PubMed or Crossref record; full text not read

The Effect of Cynara scolymus on Blood Pressure and BMI in Hypertensive Patients: A Randomized, Double-Blind, Placebo-Controlled, Clinical Trial.

Ardalani H, Jandaghi P, Meraji A. The Effect of Cynara scolymus on Blood Pressure and BMI in Hypertensive Patients: A Randomized, Double-Blind, Placebo-Controlled, Clinical Trial Complement Med Res, 2020. PMID 31484191

Result not recorded
Design
Randomized, double-blind, placebo-controlled trial (8 weeks)
Sample
n = 40
Population
People with hypertension taking captopril (clinical population), Iran
Funding
not stated in the PubMed or Crossref record; full text not read

Effects of artichoke on blood pressure: A systematic review and meta-analysis.

Moradi M, Sohrabi G, Golbidi M. Effects of artichoke on blood pressure: A systematic review and meta-analysis Complement Ther Med, 2021. PMID 33465383

Result not recorded
Design
Systematic review and meta-analysis of 8 randomized controlled trials
Population
Adults, including subgroups with hypertension and with non-alcoholic fatty liver disease
Funding
not stated in the PubMed or Crossref record; full text not read

Anti-hypertensive Effects of Artichoke Supplementation in Adults: A Systematic Review and Dose-response Meta-analysis of Randomized Controlled Trials.

Amini MR, Sheikhhossein F, Alvani M. Anti-hypertensive Effects of Artichoke Supplementation in Adults: A Systematic Review and Dose-response Meta-analysis of Randomized Controlled Trials Clin Nutr Res, 2022. PMID 35949557

Result not recorded
Design
Systematic review and dose-response meta-analysis of 7 randomized clinical trials
Sample
n = 472
Population
Adults in randomized trials of oral artichoke (populations not itemized in the abstract)
Funding
Shahid Beheshti University of Medical Sciences (Crossref funder list); no competing interests declared

Artichoke and cardiometabolic health: A systematic and meta-analytic synthesis of current evidence.

Jafari A, Karimi MA, Mahmoudinezhad M. Artichoke and cardiometabolic health: A systematic and meta-analytic synthesis of current evidence Diabetes Metab Syndr, 2025. PMID 41270328

Result not recorded
Design
Systematic review and meta-analysis of controlled trials (search to September 2024)
Population
Adults (populations not itemized in the abstract)
Funding
not stated in the PubMed or Crossref record (declarations: no competing interests)

Search and history

Search (): (TITLE:artichoke OR TITLE:cynara) AND (ABSTRACT:blood pressure) AND (ABSTRACT:randomized)

  • Graded C (proposed): Proposed in the monograph draft
  • C to C (approved): Editor sign-off November 13, 2026: grade matches the editor-approved final page