Evidence review
Artichoke for Cholesterol
Cynara cardunculus var. scolymus
The short answer
Early or mixed evidencePossibly a little. Pooled trials of artichoke leaf extract find LDL cholesterol roughly 10 to 17 mg/dL lower than with placebo after 6 to 12 weeks, a fraction of what a statin achieves. The trials are small and short, the largest positive one was run by the extract’s maker, and a careful UK trial found no change in LDL. No study has measured heart attacks or strokes, and 2025 European guidelines advise against unproven cholesterol supplements. Avoid it with gallstones or a daisy-family allergy.
6 key studies reviewed
Updated October 12, 2026
Key points
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01
A small average drop in LDL
Meta-analyses of small trials found LDL cholesterol about 10 to 17 mg/dL lower than with placebo after 6 to 12 weeks, with no reliable change in HDL cholesterol.
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02
Results are inconsistent
The largest positive trial was run by the extract’s maker. A careful 12-week UK trial found no LDL difference, and a Cochrane review called the evidence not yet convincing.
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03
Far weaker than a statin
Moderate-intensity statins lower LDL by 30–49% and prevent heart attacks and strokes. Artichoke has no outcome trials, and 2025 European guidelines advise against unproven supplements.
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04
Leaf extract, not the vegetable
Trials used 500 to 2,700 mg a day of concentrated leaf extracts. Eating artichokes is healthy, but it is not the exposure that was tested.
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05
Gallbladder and allergy cautions
Artichoke increases bile flow, so EMA rules it out with gallstones, bile-duct problems, and liver disease, and in people allergic to daisy-family plants.
Artichoke leaf extract may lower cholesterol a little, but the evidence is weaker than supplement labels suggest. Meta-analyses (studies that pool the results of several trials) find that people taking artichoke extracts had LDL cholesterol, the “bad” cholesterol that builds up in artery walls, about 10 to 17 mg/dL lower than people taking a placebo (dummy pill) after 6 to 12 weeks. The trials behind those numbers were small and short, they used different products, the most impressive one was run by the company that sold the extract, and a carefully conducted UK trial found no difference in LDL at all. No trial has tested whether artichoke prevents heart attacks or strokes, and even the most favorable estimates are a fraction of what a statin does.
Cholesterol travels in the blood inside particles called lipoproteins. High LDL cholesterol causes no symptoms but, over years, raises the risk of heart attack and stroke, which is why it is treated with diet, exercise, and, for people at higher risk, medicines such as statins. Artichoke supplements are made from the large, bitter leaves of the globe artichoke (Cynara cardunculus var. scolymus, often labeled Cynara scolymus), not the flower heads we eat. In Europe the leaf has been sold since the 1970s for indigestion and sluggish bile flow, and sometimes for cholesterol, according to the European Medicines Agency (EMA). Today it is a common ingredient in “cholesterol support” capsules, often alongside red yeast rice, bergamot, or other plant extracts.
This page goes through the meta-analyses and the individual trials, including who paid for them; what expert panels and cholesterol guidelines say; the doses and products tested; and who should avoid artichoke. Nothing here is medical advice. High cholesterol is best judged as part of your overall heart risk, together with blood pressure, diabetes, smoking, and family history, and an LDL of 190 mg/dL or more can signal an inherited condition, familial hypercholesterolemia, that needs medical treatment rather than a supplement.
02 The trials
Key studies
The trials and reviews that carry the most weight for this question, with the product and dose each one tested. Results apply to the preparation studied.
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Jafari et al., 2025
Systematic review and meta-analysis of randomized trials
- Who
- Adults in randomized trials published up to September 2024
- What and how much
- Artichoke supplements and extracts; preparations and doses varied
- How long
- Trials of varying length
Total cholesterol 12.3 mg/dL, LDL 10.3 mg/dL (95% CI 2.0 to 18.6), and triglycerides 12.9 mg/dL lower than controls, with no significant change in HDL; systolic pressure about 2.5 mmHg lower.
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Sahebkar et al., 2018
Systematic review and meta-analysis of 9 randomized trials
- Who
- 702 participants
- What and how much
- Artichoke extracts; doses differed between trials
- How long
- Literature searched to March 2017
Total cholesterol 17.6 mg/dL, LDL 14.9 mg/dL, and triglycerides 9.2 mg/dL lower than controls; HDL unchanged. LDL fell more in people who started with higher levels.
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Englisch et al., 2000
Randomized, double-blind, placebo-controlled, multicenter; manufacturer-run
- Who
- 143 adults with total cholesterol above 280 mg/dL
- What and how much
- CY450 water-based dry leaf extract (25–35:1), 450 mg tablets, 1,800 mg a day
- How long
- 6 weeks
Total cholesterol fell 18.5% versus 8.6% on placebo, and LDL 22.9% versus 6.3% (p = 0.0001); no drug-related adverse events. The authors were from Novartis Consumer Health, which sold the tablets.
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Bundy et al., 2008
Randomized, double-blind, placebo-controlled
- Who
- 75 otherwise healthy UK adults with total cholesterol of 6.0–8.0 mmol/L
- What and how much
- Standardized leaf extract, 1,280 mg a day
- How long
- 12 weeks
Total cholesterol fell 4.2% versus a 1.9% rise on placebo (p = 0.025), but LDL, HDL, and triglycerides did not differ between the groups.
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Rondanelli et al., 2013
Randomized, double-blind, placebo-controlled; extract maker supplied tablets
- Who
- 92 overweight adults with mild high cholesterol (Pavia, Italy)
- What and how much
- Standardized leaf extract tablets, 250 mg twice daily
- How long
- 8 weeks
LDL fell 0.56 versus 0.15 mmol/L, a difference of about 16 mg/dL, and HDL rose about 8 mg/dL more than on placebo. Indena supplied the tablets, and three co-authors were from Indena.
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Rezazadeh et al., 2018
Randomized, double-blind, placebo-controlled
- Who
- 50 women aged 20–50 with metabolic syndrome (Tabriz, Iran)
- What and how much
- Hydroalcoholic artichoke leaf extract, 1,800 mg a day as four tablets
- How long
- 12 weeks
The only difference from placebo the abstract reports is lower triglycerides in women carrying one variant of the FTO gene (−19.1% versus +10.8%); it reports no cholesterol benefit.
03 Evidence
What the research shows
Our rating for Artichoke for Cholesterol, based on the studies below.
Three meta-analyses agree on direction but not on size. Sahebkar and colleagues (Critical Reviews in Food Science and Nutrition 2018) pooled nine randomized trials with 702 participants and found total cholesterol 17.6 mg/dL, LDL cholesterol 14.9 mg/dL, and triglycerides 9.2 mg/dL lower than in control groups, with no change in HDL, the “good” cholesterol. The LDL effect was larger in people who started with higher levels. Shahinfar and colleagues (Phytotherapy Research 2021) combined 15 results from 14 studies of artichoke leaf extract and reported LDL about 17.5 mg/dL lower, again with no significant change in HDL. The most recent, by Jafari and colleagues (Diabetes and Metabolic Syndrome 2025), searched the literature to September 2024 and found smaller effects: total cholesterol 12.3 mg/dL and LDL 10.3 mg/dL lower than controls, with a 95% confidence interval for LDL (the range in which the true effect probably lies) of about 2 to 19 mg/dL. These pooled analyses mix leaf extracts and juices, different doses and durations, and people with fatty liver, metabolic syndrome, or simply raised cholesterol. Cochrane, which only accepts randomized trials of artichoke-only products, was more cautious. Wider and colleagues (Cochrane 2013) found three eligible trials with 262 participants and concluded that artichoke showed potential but that the evidence was not yet convincing; Cochrane withdrew the review in 2016 because its heart group judged the topic a low priority, not because new evidence had settled it.
The individual trials explain why. The most striking result comes from Englisch and colleagues (Arzneimittel-Forschung 2000), who gave 143 adults with total cholesterol above 280 mg/dL either 1,800 mg a day of a water-based dry leaf extract (CY450, sold as Valverde Artischocke tablets) or placebo for six weeks. Total cholesterol fell 18.5% against 8.6% on placebo, and LDL 22.9% against 6.3%. The authors’ listed affiliation was Novartis Consumer Health, which sold the product, and the large fall in the placebo group shows how much cholesterol readings can drift with diet and repeated testing. Bundy and colleagues at the University of Reading (Phytomedicine 2008) ran a more sobering trial: 75 otherwise healthy adults with mildly to moderately raised cholesterol took 1,280 mg a day of a standardized extract or placebo for 12 weeks. Total cholesterol fell 4.2% with artichoke and rose 1.9% with placebo, a modest but significant difference, but LDL, HDL, and triglycerides did not differ between groups; the authors suggested that the healthy volunteers may have responded less than sicker patients. A third trial in the Cochrane review, of 44 people taking 1,920 mg a day for 12 weeks and published only as an abstract, found no overall difference in blood fats and a benefit only in a subgroup who started with total cholesterol above 230 mg/dL.
Later trials are mixed. Rondanelli and colleagues at the University of Pavia (International Journal of Food Sciences and Nutrition 2013) gave 92 overweight adults with mild high cholesterol 250 mg of a standardized leaf extract or placebo twice daily for eight weeks, alongside dietary advice for both groups. LDL fell 0.56 mmol/L on artichoke against 0.15 mmol/L on placebo, a difference of about 16 mg/dL, and HDL rose about 8 mg/dL more. The Italian extract company Indena supplied the tablets and three of the nine authors worked there, although the paper declared no conflict of interest. In contrast, Rezazadeh and colleagues at Tabriz University of Medical Sciences (Phytotherapy Research 2018) gave 50 women with metabolic syndrome 1,800 mg a day of a hydroalcoholic leaf extract or placebo for 12 weeks, and the only benefit the abstract reports is lower triglycerides in women carrying one variant of the FTO gene. In 100 adults with fatty liver, Panahi and colleagues (Phytotherapy Research 2018) found that 600 mg a day for two months lowered total and LDL cholesterol, but HDL fell too. In 40 people with obesity awaiting weight-loss surgery, the 2026 SteatoChoke pilot by Holländer and colleagues (Journal of Clinical Lipidology) saw total and LDL cholesterol improve only in women, while liver enzymes rose. A small Italian study of artichoke juice by Lupattelli and colleagues (Life Sciences 2004) is often quoted for cholesterol, but in its 18 treated patients and 10 controls, all on a low-fat diet, total and LDL cholesterol fell by similar amounts in both groups; only blood-vessel function improved more with the juice.
Expert bodies differ in tone. An International Lipid Expert Panel led by Cicero (Archives of Medical Science 2017), which included two authors of the 2018 meta-analysis, rated artichoke leaf extract class IIa, level B, at 1–3 g a day, with an expected LDL reduction of 5% to 15%, while calling the clinical data still preliminary and noting that long-term safety studies were lacking. EMA’s herbal committee accepts artichoke leaf only as a traditional medicine for indigestion and concluded that rigorous trials are still needed to establish it as a cholesterol-lowering agent. The 2025 focused update of the European Society of Cardiology and European Atherosclerosis Society (ESC/EAS) dyslipidaemia guidelines added a class III recommendation, meaning not recommended: dietary supplements or vitamins without documented safety and significant LDL-lowering efficacy should not be used to lower the risk of atherosclerotic cardiovascular disease. For comparison, the 2018 American College of Cardiology and American Heart Association (ACC/AHA) cholesterol guideline defines moderate-intensity statins as lowering LDL by 30% to 49% and high-intensity statins by 50% or more. The Cholesterol Treatment Trialists’ Collaboration (Lancet 2010), pooling 26 statin trials with about 170,000 people, found that each 1 mmol/L (about 39 mg/dL) reduction in LDL cut major vascular events, such as heart attacks and strokes, by about 22%. Artichoke has never been tested for those outcomes.
How artichoke might lower cholesterol is only partly understood. In rat liver cells, Gebhardt (Journal of Pharmacology and Experimental Therapeutics 1998) found that leaf extracts reduced cholesterol production indirectly at the step controlled by HMG-CoA reductase, the enzyme statins block; the flavonoid luteolin and its glucoside cynaroside were mainly responsible, while cynarin, long promoted as the active compound, had no significant effect. Artichoke also increases bile flow: in a small crossover study by Kirchhoff and colleagues (Phytomedicine 1994), a single 1.92 g dose of extract delivered into the duodenum raised bile secretion by up to 152% in 20 volunteers. Bile carries cholesterol out of the body, but whether that matters for blood cholesterol in people has not been shown. The open questions are basic ones: whether the effect lasts beyond three months, which extract and dose work best, how artichoke compares with proven options such as soluble fiber, and whether it changes any outcome that matters to patients.
04 In practice
How it was taken in studies
Trials used concentrated leaf extracts at a wide range of doses: 500 mg a day as two 250 mg tablets (Rondanelli), 600 mg (Panahi), 1,280 mg (Bundy), 1,800 mg (Englisch and Rezazadeh), 1,920 mg (the abstract-only trial), and 2,700 mg in a trial in people with fatty liver. The lipid expert panel’s suggested range is 1–3 g of extract a day. EMA’s traditional doses for indigestion give a sense of what a standard product looks like: 400–1,320 mg a day of a dry extract of dried leaf (drug-to-extract ratio 2–7.5:1), or 600–2,700 mg a day of a more concentrated dry extract of fresh leaf (15–35:1). The CY450 extract used in the strongest positive trial was a water-based extract at 25–35:1. Because the ratio tells you how much leaf went into each milligram, 500 mg of one product can represent far more plant material than 500 mg of another, so a label that names the plant part, extract ratio, and daily dose is the only way to compare a product with the research.
Effects in trials appeared over 6 to 12 weeks, and no study ran longer than 12 weeks, so there is no evidence about long-term use. If you and your clinician decide to try artichoke, the only way to know whether it is doing anything is a fasting or non-fasting lipid test before starting and again after about two to three months, with diet and other habits kept the same. Several placebo groups also improved, sometimes substantially, so a single lower reading may reflect diet changes or normal variation rather than the supplement. If LDL has not fallen meaningfully, there is little reason to continue, and if your risk is high, the next step is proven treatment rather than a higher dose.
Many products sold for cholesterol combine artichoke with other ingredients, and the results of combination trials cannot be credited to artichoke. In one Italian trial, Fogacci and colleagues (Nutrients 2024) tested a daily tablet of artichoke and bergamot extracts with astaxanthin, chromium, and folic acid, funded and manufactured by Meda Pharma; in another, Riva and colleagues (Nutrients 2021) paired 100 mg of artichoke extract with 600 mg of bergamot, with authors from the extract company Indena. Blends containing red yeast rice deserve particular care: its monacolin K is chemically identical to the statin lovastatin. EU law since 2022 limits monacolins to less than 3 mg per daily portion and requires labels warning against use with cholesterol-lowering medication, in pregnancy or breastfeeding, under 18, or over 70. Eating artichokes is a different matter again: they are a healthy vegetable rich in fiber, but the cooked heart is not the leaf extract tested in trials.
05 Caution
Before you try artichoke
In trials lasting up to 12 weeks, artichoke leaf extract was well tolerated. The 2013 Cochrane review found only mild, transient, and infrequent adverse events, and the 143-person German trial reported no drug-related adverse events. EMA lists slight diarrhea with abdominal cramping, nausea and other upper-abdominal complaints, and heartburn as possible side effects, with frequency unknown. Because the trials were short and small, rare or long-term problems would not have been detected.
The main cautions follow from what artichoke does. Because it increases bile flow, EMA says artichoke leaf must not be used with blocked bile ducts, cholangitis (inflamed bile ducts), gallstones, other biliary disorders, or liver disease. Artichoke belongs to the daisy family (Asteraceae), and EMA also rules it out for people allergic to related plants such as ragweed, chamomile, arnica, or yarrow; people who handle artichokes at work have developed asthma and skin allergy. EMA describes a rare case of severe liver injury in a woman taking an artichoke product for slimming, and in the 2026 SteatoChoke pilot liver enzymes rose in people with obesity taking the extract. Stop it and see a doctor for yellow skin or eyes, dark urine, pale stools, itching, or pain under the right ribs. EMA does not recommend artichoke leaf in pregnancy, breastfeeding, or under age 12, because safety has not been established.
No drug interactions have been documented, but none have been formally studied. Do not stop or cut down a statin or other cholesterol medicine in favor of artichoke: statins are proven to prevent heart attacks and strokes, and artichoke is not. If you take artichoke alongside a statin, tell your prescriber so your next lipid test can be interpreted properly. Check every ingredient in combination products, because red yeast rice acts like a statin and should not be added to one, and other ingredients bring their own interactions. A pharmacist can check a product label against your medicines.
High cholesterol has no symptoms, so it is found by blood tests, and what to do about it depends on your overall risk. Ask for a medical assessment if your LDL is 190 mg/dL or higher, if close relatives had heart attacks or strokes young, or if you have diabetes, kidney disease, or existing heart disease, because these situations call for prescribed treatment. Chest pain or pressure, especially spreading to the arm, neck, or jaw, sudden breathlessness, or signs of stroke such as face drooping, arm weakness, or slurred speech are emergencies: call 911 or your local emergency number.
06 Questions
Frequently Asked Questions
It may lower it slightly. Meta-analyses of small trials find LDL cholesterol about 10 to 17 mg/dL lower with artichoke leaf extract than with placebo after 6 to 12 weeks. But results vary: the largest positive trial was run by the extract’s seller, a careful UK trial found no LDL difference, and a Cochrane review called the evidence not yet convincing. No trial has shown that artichoke prevents heart attacks or strokes.
It is much weaker. A lipid expert panel expects artichoke extract to lower LDL by about 5% to 15%, while moderate-intensity statins lower it by 30% to 49% and high-intensity statins by 50% or more. Statins have also been proven, in trials of about 170,000 people, to reduce heart attacks and strokes. Artichoke has no such evidence, and 2025 European guidelines advise against supplements without documented LDL-lowering efficacy.
No interactions have been documented, but none have been studied either, so talk to your prescriber first. Never stop or reduce a statin to take artichoke instead. Be especially careful with “cholesterol support” blends that contain red yeast rice: its monacolin K is the same molecule as the statin lovastatin, and EU rules require these products to warn against use with cholesterol-lowering medication.
Trials measured their results after 6 to 12 weeks. If you try it, a lipid test before starting and another after two to three months, with your diet unchanged, is the only way to know whether it is working for you. No study has lasted longer than 12 weeks, so there is no evidence about longer use.
Not in the way the supplements were tested. Trials used concentrated extracts of the bitter leaves, not the flower heads we eat. Artichokes are a healthy, fiber-rich vegetable that fits a heart-healthy diet, and soluble fiber such as psyllium has consistent evidence for lowering LDL, but no trial has shown that eating artichoke hearts lowers cholesterol on its own.
Psyllium husk has the most consistent evidence: about 10 g a day lowered LDL by roughly 13 mg/dL in 28 pooled trials. Garlic, black seed, and green tea have also been studied, with smaller or less consistent effects. Artichoke sits in a similar range on average but with less reliable trials. None replaces a statin when one is needed.
EMA rules it out for people with gallstones, blocked or inflamed bile ducts, or liver disease, because it increases bile flow, and for anyone allergic to daisy-family plants such as ragweed, chamomile, or yarrow. It is not recommended in pregnancy, breastfeeding, or for children under 12. If you take prescription medicines, check with a pharmacist first.
07 References
Sources
These references support the claims on this page. They are not an endorsement of any product. The artichoke monograph carries its own full source list.
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Artichoke and cardiometabolic health: A systematic and meta-analytic synthesis of current evidence
Diabetes and Metabolic Syndrome (PubMed 41270328), 2025
Jafari et al.: randomized trials to September 2024; total cholesterol −12.29 mg/dL, LDL −10.31 mg/dL (95% CI −18.57 to −2.04), triglycerides −12.85 mg/dL, HDL unchanged; systolic −2.49 and diastolic −1.53 mmHg; fasting glucose and HbA1c unchanged.
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Lipid-lowering activity of artichoke extracts: A systematic review and meta-analysis
Critical Reviews in Food Science and Nutrition (PubMed 28609140), 2018
Sahebkar et al.: 9 trials, 702 participants; total cholesterol −17.6 mg/dL, LDL −14.9 mg/dL, triglycerides −9.2 mg/dL, HDL unchanged; LDL effect larger with higher baseline LDL.
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Effects of artichoke leaf extract supplementation or artichoke juice consumption on lipid profile: A systematic review and dose-response meta-analysis of randomized controlled trials
Phytotherapy Research (PubMed 34569671), 2021
Shahinfar et al.: 15 effect sizes from 14 studies of leaf extract; total cholesterol −17.01 mg/dL, LDL −17.48 mg/dL, HDL not significantly changed; separate analysis of two juice studies.
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Artichoke leaf extract for treating hypercholesterolaemia
Cochrane Database of Systematic Reviews (PubMed 23543518), 2013
Wider et al.: 3 RCTs, 262 participants; potential to lower cholesterol but evidence not yet convincing; one trial abstract-only; mild, transient, infrequent adverse events. Withdrawn in 2016 (PubMed 27195440) as a low priority for Cochrane Heart.
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Efficacy of Artichoke dry extract in patients with hyperlipoproteinemia
Arzneimittel-Forschung (PubMed 10758778), 2000
Englisch et al. (Novartis Consumer Health): 143 adults with total cholesterol above 280 mg/dL, CY450 extract 1,800 mg/day or placebo for 6 weeks; total cholesterol −18.5% vs −8.6%, LDL −22.9% vs −6.3%; no drug-related adverse events.
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Artichoke leaf extract (Cynara scolymus) reduces plasma cholesterol in otherwise healthy hypercholesterolemic adults: a randomized, double blind placebo controlled trial
Phytomedicine (PubMed 18424099), 2008
Bundy et al.: 75 adults with total cholesterol 6.0–8.0 mmol/L, 1,280 mg/day for 12 weeks; total cholesterol −4.2% vs +1.9% (p = 0.025); no differences in LDL, HDL, or triglycerides.
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Beneficial effects of artichoke leaf extract supplementation on increasing HDL-cholesterol in subjects with primary mild hypercholesterolaemia: a double-blind, randomized, placebo-controlled trial
International Journal of Food Sciences and Nutrition (PubMed 22746542), 2013
Rondanelli et al.: 92 overweight adults, 250 mg twice daily for 8 weeks; LDL −0.561 vs −0.149 mmol/L, HDL +0.207 vs +0.005 mmol/L; tablets provided by Indena, three co-authors from Indena; no conflict of interest declared (full text).
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Effects of artichoke leaf extract supplementation on metabolic parameters in women with metabolic syndrome: Influence of TCF7L2-rs7903146 and FTO-rs9939609 polymorphisms
Phytotherapy Research (PubMed 29193419), 2018
Rezazadeh et al.: 50 women with metabolic syndrome, 1,800 mg/day hydroalcoholic extract or placebo for 12 weeks; only reported between-group difference was lower triglycerides in FTO A-allele carriers.
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Lipid lowering nutraceuticals in clinical practice: position paper from an International Lipid Expert Panel
Archives of Medical Science (PubMed 28883839), 2017
Cicero et al.: artichoke leaf extract class IIa, level B, 1–3 g/day, expected LDL reduction 5–15%; clinical data still preliminary; long-term safety studies not available.
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2025 Focused Update of the 2019 ESC/EAS Guidelines for the management of dyslipidaemias
European Heart Journal (PubMed 40878289), 2025
Mach et al.: dietary supplements or vitamins without documented safety and significant LDL-C-lowering efficacy are not recommended to lower the risk of ASCVD (class III, level B).
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2018 AHA/ACC/AACVPR/AAPA/ABC/ACPM/ADA/AGS/APhA/ASPC/NLA/PCNA Guideline on the Management of Blood Cholesterol
Circulation (PubMed 30586774), 2019
Grundy et al.: moderate-intensity statin therapy lowers LDL-C by 30–49% and high-intensity by 50% or more; LDL-C of 190 mg/dL or higher warrants statin therapy.
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Efficacy and safety of more intensive lowering of LDL cholesterol: a meta-analysis of data from 170,000 participants in 26 randomised trials
Lancet (PubMed 21067804), 2010
Cholesterol Treatment Trialists’ Collaboration: each 1.0 mmol/L LDL reduction lowered major vascular events (rate ratio 0.78) and all-cause mortality by 10%.
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European Union herbal monograph on Cynara cardunculus L. (syn. Cynara scolymus L.), folium
European Medicines Agency (EMA/HMPC/194014/2017), 2018
Traditional use for indigestion only; extract doses; contraindications for Asteraceae allergy, bile-duct obstruction, cholangitis, gallstones, and liver disease; not recommended under 12 or in pregnancy and breastfeeding.
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Increase in choleresis by means of artichoke extract
Phytomedicine (PubMed 23195882), 1994
Kirchhoff et al.: crossover pilot in 20 volunteers; a single 1.92 g intraduodenal dose raised bile secretion by up to 152%.
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Inhibition of cholesterol biosynthesis in primary cultured rat hepatocytes by artichoke (Cynara scolymus L.) extracts
Journal of Pharmacology and Experimental Therapeutics (PubMed 9732368), 1998
Gebhardt: indirect inhibition at the HMG-CoA reductase step; luteolin and cynaroside mainly responsible, cynarin without significant effect.
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Artichoke juice improves endothelial function in hyperlipemia
Life Sciences (PubMed 15581909), 2004
Lupattelli et al.: 18 patients on 20 ml/day frozen artichoke juice and 10 controls, all on diet, for 6 weeks; total and LDL cholesterol fell similarly in both groups; flow-mediated dilation improved only with juice.
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Commission Regulation (EU) 2022/860 as regards monacolins from red yeast rice
Official Journal of the European Union (EUR-Lex), 2022
Daily portion must provide less than 3 mg of monacolins; labels must warn against use with cholesterol-lowering medication, in pregnancy or lactation, under 18, and over 70.
Other herbs reviewed for heart & circulation
- Hibiscus for Blood Pressure Promising clinical evidence