ALCACHOFA (CYNARA SCOLYMUS)

The artichoke (Cynara scolymus) is a plant of the daisy family. It is the non-prickly variety of wild thistle and its fruits are highly appreciated in Mediterranean cuisine. In addition to the culinary use of the fruits, the leaves are used in pharmacy for their therapeutic properties.

Descripción

The artichoke is a herbaceous plant, cultivated in many parts of the world, which is very abundant in the Mediterranean where it is rarely feral. It is perennial, up to two meters high. Its leaves are pinnadolobed, more than 60 cm long, with spineless lobes and stormy underside. The leaves have a light green color and, especially on the underside, are covered with white sheels, very thin, which form like cobwebs and further pale the color of the leaves

The characteristic color of the leaves gives name to the artichoke, since in Greek and Latin, cinara, means ashy color. Some recent studies show that a third of the Spanish population has dyspeptic discomfort, a problem that affects many women and men from the age of 35. Due to factors such as stress in the professional and work environment, an unbalanced diet and frequent consumption of fast foods, functional disorders of the digestive system, liver overload, satiety and flatus originate. A large part of the population has high cholesterol and triglyceride values. In all these cases, the use of artichoke leaf extracts is indicated, usually in the form of capsules, a safe and quite effective remedy that serves as a complement to other more active medicines and has the advantage of its low cost.