Products
Preparations from artichoke leaves are commercially available in the form of capsules, dragées, tablets, drops, as tea mixtures and as juice, among others. The medicinal drug is also available. Artichokes are also used to make the Italian liqueur Cynar.
Stem plant
Artichoke (synonym: from the daisy family (Asteraceae) is a thistle-like plant native to the Mediterranean region.
Medicinal drug
Artichoke leaves (Cynarae folium) are used as a medicinal raw material, the dried, whole or cut leaves of . The pharmacopoeia requires a minimum content of chlorogenic acid. Liquid and dry extracts are made from the leaves using ethanol and other methods. Also used is the powder from the leaves and the pressed juice.
Ingredients
Active ingredients include:
- Bitter compounds such as cynaropicrin, a sesquiterpene lactone.
- Phenolic carboxylic acids: chlorogenic acid, cynarin.
- Flavonoids such as luteolin
Effects
The preparations have choleretic, digestive, lipid-lowering / cholesterol-lowering, hepatoprotective, spasmolytic, carminative, antiemetic and antioxidant properties.
Indications for use
- For the treatment of digestive complaints such as dyspepsia, bloating, belching and flatulence. For dysfunction of the bile ducts.
- As a lipid-lowering agent for the supportive treatment of disorders of lipid metabolism.
Dosage
According to the package leaflet. Medicines are usually taken three times a day with food (depending on the drug).
Contraindications
- Hypersensitivity
- Obstruction of the bile ducts
- Inflammation of the bile ducts
- Diseases affecting the gall bladder
- Gallstones
- Inflammation of the liver (hepatitis)
- Children under 12 years (insufficient data).
Full precautions can be found in the drug label.
Interactions
Drug-drug interactions have been described with vitamin K antagonists.
Adverse effects
Possible adverse effects include mild diarrhea with cramps, epigastric disturbances such as nausea, heartburn, and allergic reactions. Side effects rarely occur.
