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Artichoke
The leaf of the globe artichoke, not the part you eat. It has an EMA herbal monograph for indigestion and no authorised EU health claim, and we use it in one formula that is still in development. Because it increases the flow of bile, it is ruled out if you have gallstones that give you symptoms.
WHAT WE ARE ALLOWED TO SAY
Nothing yet. The claims are on hold.
Artichoke has no authorised health claim under Regulation (EU) 432/2012. Several of its claims sit on the European Commission's on-hold list, where most botanical claims have waited since 2010 for an EFSA assessment. Until that ends, we make no health claim for it, and you will not find one on this page.Artichoke has no authorised health claim under Regulation (EU) 432/2012. Its claims are on hold, waiting for an EFSA assessment. Until then, we make no health claim for it.
Our file describes artichoke acting on the flow of bile, on the digestion of fats and, mildly, on LDL cholesterol. None of that is an authorised claim, and we do not say it as one. We use it in a liver formula, but it has no claim for the liver either. Its EMA monograph covers indigestion with a feeling of fullness and wind, which is a medicines assessment, not a food claim, and our file also cites a Cochrane review of artichoke leaf extract in high cholesterol. That is a reason to keep it in the library, not a permission to promise anything.
WHY THE LEAF
The leaf, not the part you eat.
Artichoke is a plant, so the choice is not between salts but between parts and preparations. Our file places the active compounds, cynarin, chlorogenic acid, luteolin and cynaroside, in the leaf rather than in the flower head. It prefers a dry leaf extract at a ratio of 25–35 to 1, standardised to at least 2.5% cynarin.
The part sold as a vegetable. Our file places the active compounds in the leaf, not here, so it is not what we would use.
Dried leaf taken as an infusion. It is the other preparation in the EMA monograph on file.
A dry, water-based leaf extract, 25 to 35 parts of leaf for each part of extract, standardised to at least 2.5% cynarin. It is the preparation behind the monograph doses on file.
There is no authorised claim for any form of artichoke, standardised or not, so the standard is not a claim argument and we do not use it as one. Our formula file does not yet record which extract the 200 mg refers to, and our artichoke file is still a draft, pending review by a clinical professional.There is no authorised claim for any form of artichoke, standardised or not. Our formula file does not yet record which extract the 200 mg refers to, and our file is still pending clinical review.
WHERE IT APPEARS
One of the twenty-nine carries artichoke.
Only Liver (ALT / AST), an ADAPT formula still in development, next to milk thistle, choline and vitamin E. It goes out at night, before or during dinner. Our artichoke file would take it 15 to 30 minutes before meals, split across two or three doses a day. This formula serves it once, and we would rather say that than hide it.
THE CEILING
No official limit. Our cap: 640 mg a day.
EFSA has not set a tolerable upper intake level for artichoke, and the EMA monograph gives doses, not a limit. Our files do not yet agree on those doses: one records 320 to 640 mg of dry extract a day, another 1,200 to 1,800 mg, as 600 mg two or three times a day. Either way, 200 mg sits below them. The cap in our file is our own: 640 mg of extract a day, added up across every formula. No limit is not the same as no risk.EFSA has not set an upper intake level for artichoke, so the cap is ours: 640 mg of extract a day across everything you take. No limit is not the same as no risk.
640 mg of extract a day across everything you take. Our file flags doubling up with other ingredients that act on digestion and the liver: milk thistle, boldo, dandelion and artichoke itself. Today only Liver (ALT / AST) carries it, at 200 mg.
Not if you have a blocked bile duct or gallstones that give you symptoms: it increases the flow of bile and can bring on biliary colic, and the EMA warning is not to use it when the bile ducts are obstructed. Not if you are allergic to plants of the daisy family (Asteraceae), such as daisies, chamomile or ragweed. Pregnancy and breastfeeding: not enough data, so avoid it. Children under 12: not recommended. Liver disease: caution in severe cholestasis. On anticoagulants: to be monitored. Kidney disease: no specific restriction on file. In Liver (ALT / AST), taking a vitamin K antagonist such as warfarin or acenocoumarol, or having known liver disease, rules the formula out.
Wind, mild diarrhoea and stomach discomfort, and allergic reactions in people sensitive to the daisy family. It is high in fructans, so it may not suit you on a low-FODMAP diet or with fructose intolerance. It contains none of the allergens the EU requires on a label. The label warning on file: talk to your healthcare professional if you take anticoagulants such as warfarin, acenocoumarol, apixaban or dabigatran, as it can change their effect.
WHAT IT REACTS WITH
Four documented pairs. Several flags.
Artichoke is one of the 140 ingredients in our library, so it has 139 possible partners. Four of its pairs are documented in our interaction table so far, out of the 443 on file. Our ingredient file flags the others below, which have not been entered in that table yet.
Charcoal binds the polyphenols in artichoke, rated high: never in the same dose, and at least 3 hours apart. Kaolin, a white clay, holds back plant compounds too, rated medium: at least 2 hours apart.
Both are documented as low-severity synergies. Milk thistle adds to artichoke's effect on bile flow, and our table marks the two as a valid pairing: they share the dose in Liver (ALT / AST). Turmeric adds to the same bile effect. Complementary means they can share a dose; it is not a promise about your liver.
Dandelion adds to the flow of bile, rated moderate. Berberine and monacolin K add to its effect on blood lipids, rated mild. Our file also records boldo and mint as a traditional pairing for indigestion.
Warfarin: a small change in INR, put down to the vitamin K in the leaf, rated mild. Statins: the lipid-lowering effects add up, rated mild to moderate. Diabetes medication: a possible extra risk of low blood sugar, rated mild, on preclinical evidence. None of these is in our drug interaction table yet. In Liver (ALT / AST), a vitamin K antagonist rules the formula out, and the app asks about medication before it is assigned.
443 of the 9,730 possible pairs in our library are documented, which is 4.55%, and four of them involve artichoke. The rest are not "safe", they are simply unchecked, and we would rather write that down than let the number look like a badge.443 of the 9,730 possible pairs in our library are documented, which is 4.55%, and four involve artichoke. The rest are not safe, they are simply unchecked.
SOURCES
Everything on this page, with its reference.
Reviewed by VION nutrition team · last reviewed 16 September 2026
140 INGREDIENTS · 64 IN USE TODAY
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What it is, what we are allowed to say about it, which formulas carry it, what it reacts with and where each of those statements comes from. No proprietary blends, no hidden amounts.