Artichoke Extract

Conclusion: Data from three clinical trials assessing ALE for treating hypercholesterolaemia are available. Athough the trials are of adequate methodological quality they have some shortcomings and one is available as abstract only. There is an indication that ALE has potential in lowering cholesterol levels, but the evidence is, as yet, not convincing. The limited data on safety suggest only mild, transient and infrequent adverse events with the short term use of ALE.

Conclusion: A significant association between the LDL-lowering effect of artichoke and baseline LDL-C concentrations (slope: -0.170; 95%CI: -0.288, 0.051; p = 0.005) was observed. Thus, supplementation with artichoke extract was associated with a significant reduction in both total and LDL-C, and triglycerides, suggesting that supplementation may be synergistic with lipid-lowering therapy in patients with hyperlipidemia.

Conclusion: Combining the two effect sizes revealed that artichoke juice supplementation significantly reduced TG (WMD: -3.34 mg/dl, 95%CI: -5.51, -1.17, p = .003), TC (WMD: -18.04 mg/dl, 95%CI: -20.30, -15.78, p < .001), LDL-C (WMD: -1.75 mg/dl, 95%CI: -3.02, -0.48, p = .007), and HDL-C levels (WMD: -4.21 mg/dl, 95%CI: -5.49, -2.93, p < .001). In conclusion, we found that artichoke supplementation may favor CVD prevention by acting in improving the lipid profile.

Conclusion: Few data from rigorous clinical trials assessing ALE for treating hypercholesterolaemia exist. Beneficial effects are reported, the evidence however is not compelling. The limited data on safety suggest only mild, transient and infrequent adverse events with the short term use of ALE. More rigorous clinical trials assessing larger patient samples over longer intervention periods are needed to establish whether ALE is an effective and safe treatment option for patients with hypercholesterolaemia.