Artichoke Leaf Extract

Artichoke leaf extract is made from the leaf of the globe artichoke, Cynara cardunculus L., the name the European Pharmacopoeia and the EMA now use with Cynara scolymus L. carried as a synonym; horticultural material is the var. scolymus or Scolymus Group. The article is the leaf (Cynarae folium), not the edible flower head, and the two are separate commodities with separate chemistry. Ph. Eur. sets a minimum of 0.8% chlorogenic acid on the dried leaf and a minimum of 0.6% chlorogenic acid on the artichoke leaf dry extract monograph; the EMA monograph recognises aqueous dry extracts at a drug-to-extract ratio of roughly 3.8-7.5:1. Thovek extracts with water or ethanol-water, concentrates under vacuum and spray dries, with incoming leaf identity confirmed by macroscopy, microscopy and TLC against a pharmacopoeial reference. One sourcing point decides most artichoke comparisons and it is worth stating plainly: the assay method. The leaf's phenolic fraction is a family of caffeoylquinic acids - chlorogenic acid is 3-caffeoylquinic acid, cynarin is 1,5-di-O-caffeoylquinic acid - and a colorimetric UV assay reported as 'cynarin 2.5%' or 'cynarin 5%' is in practice measuring total caffeoylquinic acids and expressing the result as cynarin. An HPLC assay resolving cynarin as a discrete peak will read lower on the same powder. Quotes are not comparable unless the method is matched, so every Thovek offer names the method on the specification and the COA reports against that method. Chlorogenic-acid-assayed grades by HPLC and native ratio powders at 4:1 and 10:1 are also stocked. Beyond the caffeoylquinic acids the leaf carries flavonoids at roughly 0.1-1.0%, chiefly luteolin and apigenin glycosides, and sesquiterpene lactones at up to about 4%, of which cynaropicrin is dominant and accounts for around 80% of the characteristic bitterness; measured cynaropicrin in leaf extracts spans below 0.06 up to 22.6 mg/g. That bitterness is a functional asset in the bitter aperitif, digestive liqueur and herbal tea trades and a formulation constraint in unflavoured capsule fills and beverages, so specify a bitterness expectation if it matters. Artichoke is an Asteraceae (Compositae) botanical; the extract is vegan and vegetarian, of plant origin only, and free of milk, egg, soy, fish, crustacean, nut, gluten and other regulated allergen inputs, though brands commonly carry a voluntary Compositae cross-sensitivity statement. Documentation includes COA, heavy-metal and microbiological data, MSDS, allergen, GMO and botanical identity statements, with pesticide residue and solvent residue certificates on request.