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ARTICHOKES (Globe) Benefits:
Served hot or cold, with its leaves or stripped down to the heart, the globe artichoke is both a delicacy and a good source of folate and potassium. Many practitioners of herbal medicine also believe that the vegetable may have healing powers. Researchers in this field have conducted a number of studies on extracts of artichoke and, in particular, a substance called cynarin which is found in the edible base of the vegetable’s leaves. Results suggest that cynarin or related compounds in the artichoke may help to control cholesterol levels, improve liver function and have a lasting beneficial effect on gallstone disease. At least one study, carried out at Freiburg University in Germany in 1979, supports the contention that cynarin can reduce cholesterol levels, although there appears to be little other substantiating scientific evidence. However, many health-food shops in South Africa supply cynarin containing preparations based on artichokes. These purport to have a range of medicinal properties, including giving a boost to a sluggish liver. (Edible Thistle Globe artichokes are no relation of the Jerusalem artichoke.) |