## 3 Health Benefits
### Antioxidant Activity
\begin{table}
\begin{tabular}{c c c c c} \hline \hline
**Type** & **Botanic** & **Experiment Design** & **Results** & **Ref.** \\ \hline \multirow{3}{*}{In vivo} & \multirow{3}{*}{Leaf} & Dry leaf extract (0.2 g extract/kg bw) was given to Wistar diabetic rats for 30 days & \(\downarrow\) Serum glucose & \\ \cline{3-5}  & & & \(\downarrow\) TC and TG & [107] \\ \cline{3-5}  & & & \(\downarrow\) Serum fructosamine & \\ \hline \multirow{3}{*}{In vivo} & Head & Hypercholesterol and diabetic rats treated with artichoke heart and leaf extract (200, 400 and 600 mg/kg bw) for 4 weeks & \(\downarrow\) Serum glucose & [18] \\ \cline{3-5}  & & & \(\downarrow\) TC, LDL-C and TG & \\ \cline{3-5}  & & & \(\downarrow\) Serum glucose and insulin & \\ \cline{3-5}  & & & \(\downarrow\) ADAG and HOMA & [108] \\ \cline{3-5}  & & & \(\downarrow\) LDL-C & \\ \hline \multirow{3}{*}{Clinical trial} & \multirow{3}{*}{Head} & Overweight and obese adults with newly detected IFG treated with three daily oral assumptions of film-coated tablets of 200 mg of artichoke extract for 8 weeks & \(\downarrow\) FBG and glycosylated hemoglobin & \\ \cline{3-5}  & & & \(\downarrow\) HOMA and ADAG & [109] \\ \cline{3-5}  & & & \(\downarrow\) LDL-C and TC & \\ \cline{3-5}  & & & \(\downarrow\) Serum glucose & \\ \cline{3-5}  & & & \(\downarrow\) TC, TG and LDL-C & \\ \cline{3-5}  & & & \(\uparrow\) HDL & \\ \hline \multirow{3}{*}{Cardioprotective effect} & \multirow{3}{*}{Inhibition of iNOS induction by artichoke leaf extract} & \multirow{3}{*}{[72]} \\ \cline{3-5}  & & & \(\downarrow\) FTC, TG, LDH, ALT, MDA and AOPP & \\ \cline{3-5}  & & & \(\downarrow\) SOD, CAT and GPx & \\ \cline{3-5}  & & & \(\downarrow\) Histological findings showed a cardioprotective effect & \\ \cline{3-5}  & & & \(\uparrow\) Fatty acid oxidation inhibition & \\ \hline \multirow{3}{*}{In vivo} & \multirow{3}{*}{Leaf} & \multirow{3}{*}{[111]} & \multirow{3}{*}{[112]} \\ \cline{3-5}  & & & \(\downarrow\) TC and oxidized-LDL & \\ \cline{3-5}  & & & \(\downarrow\) IL-1, IL-6, TNF\(\alpha\)-, IFN-\(\alpha\) and C-reactive protein & \\ \cline{3-5}  & & & \(\downarrow\) C serum TC and TG & \\ \cline{3-5}  & & & \(\downarrow\) LDL-C and AIP & \\ \cline{3-5}  & & & \(\downarrow\) Total fat, TC, TG and esterified cholesterol & \\ \cline{3-5}  & & & \(\downarrow\) FTecal excretion of total fat, TG and bile acids & \\ \cline{3-5}  & & & \(\downarrow\) FTecal excretion and bile acids & \\ \hline \multirow{3}{*}{Clinical trial} & \multirow{3}{*}{Leaf} & Patients with mild hypertension received 50 and 100 mg of & \(\downarrow\) SBP & \\ \cline{3-5}  & & & \(\downarrow\) DBP & \\ \cline{3-5}  & & & \(\downarrow\) HDL-C and MCP-1 & \\ \cline{3-5}  & & & \(\downarrow\) ApoB/ApoA, total-C/HDL-C ratio and NK response & \\ \hline \hline \end{tabular}
\end{table} 
Table 3: _Cont._The antioxidant effect of artichoke has also been confirmed in in vivo experiments through several meta-analyses [11; 125]. [PERSON] et al. [88] investigated the effects of allocan-induced diabetic rats treated with artichoke leaf extracts daily for 4 weeks, report  
\begin{table}
\begin{tabular}{p{42.7 pt} p{113.8 pt} p{113.8 pt} p{113.8 pt} p{113.8 pt}} \hline \hline
ing marked changes associated with a protective effect against ROS. Specifically, an increase in catalase (CAT), superoxide dismutase (SOD) and glutathione (GSH) activities was observed in liver and kidney. [PERSON] et al. [89] explored the protective effect of artichoke leaf extract against organic oxidative damage induced by cadmium (Cd) toxicity in rats. After treatment, the artichoke extract significantly improved the immune response and antioxidant system and hepatoreal function, with a significant decrease in malondialdehyde-hyde (MDA). Another study in mice with alcohol-induced acute liver injury showed that artichoke leaf ethanol extract could increase SOD and glutathione peroxidase (GPx) levels as well as decrease MDA [90]. There are several mechanisms that explain the antioxidant action of the bioactive compounds present in artichoke.