Artichoke and Reduced Blood Cholesterol

Research synthesisModerate evidenceModerate effect3 studies · 3 beneficial · 0 neutral · 0 harmful

All 3 studies report beneficial effects of artichoke on reducing blood cholesterol, with a predominant moderate effect size. The most studied dose appears to be 600 mg daily (from one RCT), and effects were typically observed at 6–8 weeks (median 51 days). Evidence comes from clinical populations, including individuals with NAFLD and bariatric surgery candidates.

Effective dose range: 600 mg daily
Studied populations: people with non-alcoholic fatty liver disease (NAFLD) and bariatric surgery candidates

Caveats: Evidence base is small (only 3 studies) — conclusions should be considered preliminary. Available evidence is overwhelmingly positive — clinical literature in this area is subject to publication bias (null-result studies are less likely to be published or indexed). Only one study reported a specific dose; the others did not provide dose information, limiting dose-response analysis.

Generated Jul 15, 2026

Doses used in studies

mg/day: 600 (median 600, IQR 600–600) — 1 study

Time to effect

Median: 7.3 weeks · IQR 6.6 weeks–7.9 weeks · Range 6 weeks–8.6 weeks — Reported in 2 of 3 studies

Safety in these studies

Overall tolerabilityReported
Ninety patients completed the study (49 ALE and 41 placebo) with no side effects reported.
from: Efficacy of artichoke leaf extract in non-alcoholic fatty liver disease: A pilot double-bl

3 of 3 papersPopulation:

Efficacy of artichoke leaf extract in non-alcoholic fatty liver disease: A pilot double-blind randomized controlled trial.
- 2018-03-09
- RCT · n = 100
- Phytotherapy research : PTR 32(7)
- - Yunes Panahi
  - Parisa Kianpour
  - Reza Mohtashami
  - Stephen L Atkin
  - Alexandra E Butler
  - Ramezan Jafari
  - Roghayeh Badeli
  - Amirhossein Sahebkar
- PubMed: 29520889
- DOI: 10.1002/ptr.6073
12 Insights on
- Reduced Blood Cholesterol
- High evidence
- Large Human Trial
- Clinical
ALE supplementation reduced total cholesterol … concentrations (p = .01)
Effect
Beneficial
Effect size
Moderate
Significant
Yes
Dose
600 mg daily
Lipid-lowering activity of artichoke extracts: A systematic review and meta-analysis.
- 2017-08-24
- Meta-Analysis · n = 702
- Critical reviews in food science and nutrition 58(15)
- - Amirhossein Sahebkar
  - Matteo Pirro
  - Maciej Banach
  - Dimitri P Mikhailidis
  - Stephen L Atkin
  - Arrigo F G Cicero
- PubMed: 28609140
- DOI: 10.1080/10408398.2017.1332572
4 Insights on
- Reduced Blood Cholesterol
- High evidence
Meta-analysis of data from 9 trials including 702 subjects suggested a significant decrease in plasma concentrations of total cholesterol (WMD: -17.6 mg/dL, 95%CI: -22.0, -13.3, p < 0.001)
Effect
Beneficial
Effect size
Moderate
Significant
Yes
Artichoke leaf extract reduces steatosis and decreases liver size in prebariatric patients: A randomized placebo-controlled pilot trial-The "SteatoChoke-Study".
- 2026-01
- RCT
- Journal of clinical lipidology 20(1)
- - Sebastian Holländer
  - Evelyn Marth
  - Philipp Robert Scherber
  - Antonios Spiliotis
  - Ammar Al-Ali
  - Gereon Gäbelein
  - Matthias Glanemann
- PubMed: 41274796
- DOI: 10.1016/j.jacl.2025.10.063
6 Insights on
- Reduced Blood Cholesterol
- High evidence
- Clinical
In female participants, total and low-density lipoprotein cholesterol levels improved.
Effect
Beneficial
Effect size
Small
Significant
Yes
Dose
not stated

Artichoke and Reduced Blood Cholesterol

Efficacy of artichoke leaf extract in non-alcoholic fatty liver disease: A pilot double-blind randomized controlled trial.

Lipid-lowering activity of artichoke extracts: A systematic review and meta-analysis.

Artichoke leaf extract reduces steatosis and decreases liver size in prebariatric patients: A randomized placebo-controlled pilot trial-The "SteatoChoke-Study".