Artichoke Leaf Extract Improves Cholesterol Levels
Lee Swanson Research Update
Artichoke leaf extract could be useful for controlling cholesterol, according to new research from Italy. In an eight-week, randomized, double-blind, placebo-controlled clinical trial involving 92 overweight subjects with mild hypercholesterolaemia (high blood cholesterol levels), researchers examined the effects of artichoke leaf extract (250 mg, twice per day) on serum lipid profiles.
After eight weeks of treatment, subjects given artichoke leaf extract showed significant increases in beneficial HDL cholesterol with significant decreases in total cholesterol and LDL cholesterol compared to subjects given a placebo. The study authors concluded that “these results indicate that [artichoke leaf extract] could play a relevant role in the management of hypercholesterolaemia, favouring in particular the increase in HDL-C, besides decreasing total cholesterol and LDL-cholesterol.”
Rondanelli M, et al. Beneficial effects of artichoke leaf extract supplementation on increasing HDL-cholesterol in subjects with primary mild hypercholesterolaemia: a double-blind, randomized, placebo-controlled trial. Int J Food Sci Nutr. 2013 Feb; 64 (1): 7-15. doi: 10.3109/09637486.2012.70092.