Benefits of Artichoke for Digestive Disorders The artichoke plant is best known for its heart, the bottom part of its spiky flower bud that many of us have learned to appreciate as both a delicacy and a nutritious vegetable colitis-spastic-colon However, other parts of this tall thistle-like plant, which never reach reach the dinner table, have proven to be even more beneficial for our health colitis-spastic-colon Clinical studies show its large basal leaves to be effective for improving digestion and liver function as well as cholesterol levels colitis-spastic-colon Since ancient times, humans have looked to nature for help to cure diseases colitis-spastic-colon Up until modern times, most remedies were derived from the plant kingdom, and even today a large percentage of our current pharmaceutical drugs are based on plant extracts from various parts of the world colitis-spastic-colon Many old herbal remedies, however, have fallen into oblivion with the development of modern medicine colitis-spastic-colon medicine colitis-spastic-colon Artichoke extract is one of the few phyto-pharmaceuticals whose experiential and clinical effects have been confirmed to a great extent by biomedical research colitis-spastic-colon Its major active components have been identified, as have some of its mechanisms of action in the human body colitis-spastic-colon In particular, antioxidant, liver-protective, bile-enhancing, bile-enhancing, and lipid- lowering effects have been demonstrated which correspond well with the historical use of the plant colitis-spastic-colon More research is needed to determine in detail the mechanisms of action for these effects colitis-spastic-colon However, there appears to be evidence enough to suggest a potential role for artichoke extract in in some areas where modern medicine does not have much to offer colitis-spastic-colon Artichoke has a long history colitis-spastic-colon Used as a food and a medical remedy as early as the 4th century B.C., the artichoke plant has a long history colitis-spastic-colon At the time, a pupil of Aristotle by the the name of Theophrastus was one of the first to describe the plant in detail colitis-spastic-colon Enjoyed as a delicacy, an appetizer, and a digestive aid by the aristocracy of the Roman Empire, it later seemed to fall into oblivion until the 16th century, when medicinal use of the artichoke for for liver problems and jaundice was recorded colitis-spastic-colon In 1850 a French physician successfully used extract of artichoke leaves in the treatment of a boy who had been sick with jaundice for a month and had made no improvement from the drugs used at that time colitis-spastic-colon This accomplishment inspired researchers researchers to find out more about the effects of this extract, and their research resulted in the knowledge we have today about the constituents of the extract and its mechanisms of action colitis-spastic-colon Artichoke leaf extract is made from the long, deeply serrated basal leaves of the artichoke plant colitis-spastic-colon This This part is chosen for medicinal use because the concentration of the biologically active compounds is higher here than in the rest of the plant colitis-spastic-colon The most active of these compounds have been discovered to be the flavonoids and caffeoylquinic acids colitis-spastic-colon These substances belong to the polyphenol group and | 