Burdock

(Arctium lappa)

Other Names:

Bardana, Beggar's Buttons, Burr Seed, Clot Bur, Cockle Buttons, Cocklebur, Fox's Clote, Great Burr, Happy Major, Hardock, Hareburr, Lappa, Love Leaves, Thorny Burr

Range:

Family:

Asteraceae - Aster Family (Dandelion subfamily)

Growth Type:

Burdock is a large biennial that reminds me of rhubarb

Height:

Common Burdock grows 3 - 5 feet tall, while Great Burdock can grow to 4 - 9 feet tall

Leaves:

The large, course, wavy edged leaves remind me of an elephant's ear. The leaves grow in a basal rosette, and can grow up to 2 feet long, and 1 foot wide. The undersides of the leaves are densely wooly.

Stem/Trunk:

The leaves grow on a single erect leaf stalk. The leaf stalk has a purple green hue. The stems of Great Burdock (Arctium lappa) are furrowed and resemble the shape of celery, while those of Common Burdock (Arctium minus) are hollow, and not furrowed. Both species are edible.

Root:

The width of the young burdock taproot is approximately the diameter of a pencil, but it is extremely long, often up to 4 feet in length. This is why it is so difficult for gardeners to eradicate it from their gardens. I find the irony of that interesting. The gardener plants a garden so he or she may grow edible nutritious vegetables, yet they work so hard to keep Burdock out. Burdock is highly nutritious, and quite palatable.

Flower Season:

Summer of second year

Flower Appearance:

The second year plant produces many purple flowers, and thistle like burs

Seed/Fruit:

Burs

Miscellaneous characteristics:

N/A

Habitat:

Look for Burdock on disturbed soils of roadsides and waste areas.

Parts Used:

Young leaves, roots, young flower and leaf stalks

Culinary Uses:

Burdock is a highly nutritious plant with excellent medicinal qualities. The young leaves can be added to salads or boiled in several changes of water. The root of the first year plant can be eaten spring through autumn, and the root of the second year plant can be eaten in early spring before the flower stalk appears. Once the flower stalk appears, but has not yet produced a flower, it can be picked, peeled, and eaten. Young leaf and flower stalks are best when parboiled for a minute or so to remove the bitterness.

Energetics:

Taste: Bitter
Thermal: Cooling
Humidity: Moistening

Traditional Medicinal Uses:

Root tea used as a blood purifier, diuretic, stimulates bile secretion, digestion, sweating. It is also used for gout, liver and kidney ailments, rheumatism, and gonorrhea. The root contains high levels of inulin (up to 50 percent), which has traditionally been used to treat diabetes. Both flowers and leaves have antibacterial properties. A tea from the leaves and stems has been used to treat rheumatism, and tea mixed with brown sugar has been used to treat measles. The seeds are used as a diuretic.

Indications

Arthritis, Atopic Dermatitis, Breast Cancer, Type 2 Diabetes Mellitus, Eczema, Gout, Inflammation, Oxidative Stress, Plaque Psoriasis

Usage Citations

Burdock is a plant that has not been extensively studied in clinical situations. The fact that studies concerning all indications listed above have not yet taken place, does not mean these uses are invalid. The plants I have included have a long history of effective use, and most were part of the U.S. Pharmacopoeia prior to the advent of allopathic medicine.

Breast Cancer: Baraya YS, Wong KK, Yaacob NS. The Immunomodulatory Potential of Selected Bioactive Plant-Based Compounds in Breast Cancer: A Review. Anticancer Agents Med Chem. 2017;17(6):770-783. doi: 10.2174/1871520616666160817111242. PMID: 27539316.

Helicobacter Pylori-Infection (Stomach ulcer): Yen CH, Chiu HF, Huang SY, Lu YY, Han YC, Shen YC, Venkatakrishnan K, Wang CK. Beneficial effect of Burdock complex on asymptomatic Helicobacter pylori-infected subjects: A randomized, double-blind placebo-controlled clinical trial. Helicobacter. 2018 Jun;23(3):e12469. doi: 10.1111/hel.12469. Epub 2018 Mar 8. PMID: 29520881.

Inflammation: Maghsoumi-Norouzabad L, Alipoor B, Abed R, Eftekhar Sadat B, Mesgari-Abbasi M, Asghari Jafarabadi M. Effects of Arctium lappa L. (Burdock) root tea on inflammatory status and oxidative stress in patients with knee osteoarthritis. Int J Rheum Dis. 2016 Mar;19(3):255-61. doi: 10.1111/1756-185X.12477. Epub 2014 Oct 28. PMID: 25350500.

Oxidative Stress: Maghsoumi-Norouzabad L, Alipoor B, Abed R, Eftekhar Sadat B, Mesgari-Abbasi M, Asghari Jafarabadi M. Effects of Arctium lappa L. (Burdock) root tea on inflammatory status and oxidative stress in patients with knee osteoarthritis. Int J Rheum Dis. 2016 Mar;19(3):255-61. doi: 10.1111/1756-185X.12477. Epub 2014 Oct 28. PMID: 25350500.

Plaque Psoriasis: Li H, Zhang X, Xiang C, Feng C, Fan C, Liu M, Lu H, Su H, Zhou Y, Qi Q, Xu Y, Tang W. Identification of phosphodiesterase-4 as the therapeutic target of arctigenin in alleviating psoriatic skin inflammation. J Adv Res. 2021 Mar 4;33:241-251. doi: 10.1016/j.jare.2021.02.006. PMID: 34603793; PMCID: PMC8463927.

Type 2 Diabetes Mellitus: Annunziata G, Barrea L, Ciampaglia R, Cicala C, Arnone A, Savastano S, Nabavi SM, Tenore GC, Novellino E. Arctium lappa contributes to the management of type 2 diabetes mellitus by regulating glucose homeostasis and improving oxidative stress: A critical review of in vitro and in vivo animal-based studies. Phytother Res. 2019 Sep;33(9):2213-2220. doi: 10.1002/ptr.6416. Epub 2019 Jun 24. PMID: 31232489.

Medicinal Actions:

Alterative, Antibacterial, Antihypertensive, Anti-Inflammatory, Antineoplastic, Antioxidant, Antiretroviral, Demulcent, Diaphoretic, Diuretic, Cholagogue, Hepatic, Hypoglycemic, Tonic: Kidney

Action Citations

The fact that studies concerning all of the traditional medicinal actions listed above have not yet been completed, does not mean said actions are invalid. The plants I have included have a long history of effective use, and most were part of the U.S. Pharmacopoeia prior to the advent of allopathic medicine.

Antibacterial: Yen CH, Chiu HF, Huang SY, Lu YY, Han YC, Shen YC, Venkatakrishnan K, Wang CK. Beneficial effect of Burdock complex on asymptomatic Helicobacter pylori-infected subjects: A randomized, double-blind placebo-controlled clinical trial. Helicobacter. 2018 Jun;23(3):e12469. doi: 10.1111/hel.12469. Epub 2018 Mar 8. PMID: 29520881.

Anticancer: Baraya YS, Wong KK, Yaacob NS. The Immunomodulatory Potential of Selected Bioactive Plant-Based Compounds in Breast Cancer: A Review. Anticancer Agents Med Chem. 2017;17(6):770-783. doi: 10.2174/1871520616666160817111242. PMID: 27539316.

Antidiabetic: Ahangarpour A, Heidari H, Oroojan AA, Mirzavandi F, Nasr Esfehani K, Dehghan Mohammadi Z. Antidiabetic, hypolipidemic and hepatoprotective effects of Arctium lappa root's hydro-alcoholic extract on nicotinamide-streptozotocin induced type 2 model of diabetes in male mice. Avicenna J Phytomed. 2017 Mar-Apr;7(2):169-179. PMID: 28348972; PMCID: PMC5355822.

Anti-Inflammatory: Maghsoumi-Norouzabad L, Alipoor B, Abed R, Eftekhar Sadat B, Mesgari-Abbasi M, Asghari Jafarabadi M. Effects of Arctium lappa L. (Burdock) root tea on inflammatory status and oxidative stress in patients with knee osteoarthritis. Int J Rheum Dis. 2016 Mar;19(3):255-61. doi: 10.1111/1756-185X.12477. Epub 2014 Oct 28. PMID: 25350500.

Antioxidant (Renders free radicals harmless): Maghsoumi-Norouzabad L, Alipoor B, Abed R, Eftekhar Sadat B, Mesgari-Abbasi M, Asghari Jafarabadi M. Effects of Arctium lappa L. (Burdock) root tea on inflammatory status and oxidative stress in patients with knee osteoarthritis. Int J Rheum Dis. 2016 Mar;19(3):255-61. doi: 10.1111/1756-185X.12477. Epub 2014 Oct 28. PMID: 25350500.

Insulinotropic (Causes the pancreas to release insulin: Ahangarpour A, Heidari H, Oroojan AA, Mirzavandi F, Nasr Esfehani K, Dehghan Mohammadi Z. Antidiabetic, hypolipidemic and hepatoprotective effects of Arctium lappa root's hydro-alcoholic extract on nicotinamide-streptozotocin induced type 2 model of diabetes in male mice. Avicenna J Phytomed. 2017 Mar-Apr;7(2):169-179. PMID: 28348972; PMCID: PMC5355822.

Immunomodulator (Normalizes the immune system): Wang G, Ge L, Liu T, Zheng Z, Chen L. The therapeutic potential of arctigenin against multiple human diseases: A mechanistic review. Phytomedicine. 2023 Feb;110:154647. doi: 10.1016/j.phymed.2023.154647. Epub 2023 Jan 2. PMID: 36628833.

Constituents:

Fruit: (-)-arctigenin, Arctigenin, Arctigenin-4-o-glucoside, Arctignan-a, Arctignan-b, Arctignan-c, Arctignan-d, Arctignan-e, Arctiin, Arctium-lappa-sesquilignan-al-d, Arctium-lappa-sesquilignan-al-f, Fat, Germacranolide, Isolappaola, Lappaol-c, Lappaol-e, Lappaol-f, Lappaola, Linoleic-acid, Linolenic-acid, Matairesinol, Oleic-acid, Palmitic-acid, Trachelogenin

Leaf: 9(10)-dehydrofukinone, Alpha-amyrin, Arctiol, Arctiopicrin, Ash, Benedictinolide, Beta-amyrin, Beta-eudesmol, Cnicinolide, Dehydrofukinone, Eo, Eremophilene, Fat, Fiber, Fukinanolide, Fukinone, Fukione, Isochlorogenic-acid, Lupeol, Pectinesterase, Peroxidase, Petasitalone, Petasitolone, Phytol, Polygalacturonase, Polyphenol-oxidase, Protein, Psi-taraxasterol, Taraxasterol, Taraxasterol-acetate, Taraxasterol-palmitate, Water

Plant: (4e,6e)-4,6-tetradecadien-8,10,12-triyn-1,3-diyl-diacetate, (4e,6e,12e)-4,6,12-tetradecadien-8,10,12-triyn-1,3-diyl-diac, (4e,6z)-4,6,tetradecadien-8,10,12-triyn-1,3-diyl-diacetate, (4e,6z,12e)-4,6,12-tetradecadien-8,10,12-triyn-1,3-diyl-diac, 1,11-tridecadiene, 1,11-tridecadiene-3,5,7,9-tetrayne, 1,3,1,1-tridecatriene, 1,3,11-tridecatriene-5,7,9-triyne, 3,5,7,9-tetrayne, 5'-(1-propynyl)-2,2'-bithienyl-5-yl..., 5,7,9-triyne, Acetic-acid, Alpha-amyrin, Alpha-amyrin-acetate, Aplotaxene, Arctic-acid, Arctigenin, Arctigenin-4-beta-d-glucopyranoside, Arctiin, Arctinal, Arctinol, Arctinone, Arctinone-acetate, Arctium-acidic-xylan, Arctium-xyloglucan-hc-ii-b, Beta-amyrin, Beta-amyrin-acetate, Beta-sitosterol, Butyric-acid, Costic-acid, Dehydrocostus-lactone, Dehydrodihydrocostus-lactone, Dehydrofukinone, Isovaleric-acid, Lappaol-a-thru-h, Lappaphen-a, Lappaphen-b, Lappauric-acid, Lauric-acid, Lignin, Lupeol, Lupeol-acetate, Matairesinol, Methyl-arctate-b, Mucilage, Myristic-acid, Propionic-acid, Pseudotaraxasterol, Pseudotaraxasterol-acetate, Sesquilignans, Stearic-acid, Stigmasterol, Taraxasterol, Taraxasterol-acetate, Tiglic-acid, Trachelogenin

Root: 1,11-tridecadiene-3,5,7,9-tetrayne, 1,2-epoxy-tridec-1-ene-5,7,9,11-tetrayne, 1,2-epoxy-tridec-trans-3-ene-5,7,9-triyne, 1-tridecene-3,5,7,9,11-pentayne, 2-alkyl-3-methoxypyrazines, 2-methoxy-3-methylpyrazine, 2-methoxy-3-pyrazine, 2-methyl-butyric-acid, 2-methyl-propionic-acid, 3-hexenoic-acid, 3-octenoic-acid, Alanine, Alpha-guaiene, Aluminum, Aplotaxene, Arctic-acid-b, Arctic-acid-b-methyl-ester, Arctic-acid-c, Arctinal, Arctinol, Arctinol-a, Arctinol-b, Arctinone, Arctinone-a, Arctinone-a-acetate, Arctinone-b, Arctium-lappa-antimutagen, Arginine, Ascorbic-acid, Ash, Aspartic-acid, Atropine, Benzaldehyde, Beta-carotene, Beta-elemene, Caffeic-acid, Calcium, Carbohydrates, Caryophyllene, Chlorogenic-acid, Chromium, Clovene, Cobalt, Copper, Costic-acid, Cyperene, Cystine, Decan-1-al, Dehydrocostus-lactone, Dehydrodihydrocostus-lactone, Desmutagenic Factor, Dihydroaplotaxene, Eo, Fat, Fiber, Fiber(crude), Fiber(dietary), Fructose, Gaba, Gamma-guanidino-n-butyric-acid, Glucose, Glutamic-acid, Glycine, Heptadec-1-ene, Heptadeca-1-cis-8-cis-15-triene-11,13-diyne, Heptan-1-al, Hex-2-en-1-al, Hex-3-en-1-al, Hex-3-en-1-oic-acid, Histidine, Inulin, Iron, Isoleucine, Kilocalories, Lappaphen-a, Lappaphen-b, Lauric-acid, Leucine, Lysine, Magnesium, Manganese, Mercury, Methionine, Mucilage, Niacin, Oct-2-en-1-al, Oct-3-en-1-oic-acid, Palmitic-acid, Pentadec-1-ene, Phenyl-acetaldehyde, Phenylalanine, Phosphorus, Phytosterols, Polyacetylenes, Polyphenols, Potassium, Proline, Protein, Riboflavin, Selenium, Serine, Silicon, Sitosterol, Sodium, Starch, Stearic-acid, Sterols, Stigmasterol, Sugars, Tetradeca-trans-4-cis-6-diene-8,12-diyne-1,3-diol-diacetate, Tetradeca-trans-4-cis-6-trans-12-triene-8,10-diyne-1,3-diol-diacetate, Tetradeca-trans-4-trans-6-diene-8,10,12-triyne-1,3-diol-diacetate, Tetradeca-trans-4-trans-6-trans-12-triene-8,10-diyne-1,3-diol-diacetate, Thiamin, Thiamine, Threonine, Tin, Tridec-1-ene-3-5-7-9-11-pentayne, Trideca-1-11-diene-3-5-7-9-tetrayne, Trideca-1-trans-11-diene-3,5,7,9-tetrayne, Trideca-1-trans-3-trans-11-triene-5,7,9-triyne, Tryptophan, Tyrosine, Valine, Water, Zinc

Seed: Arctigenin, Arctiin, Bis-5',5'-arctigenin, Daucosterol, Isolappaol-c, Isolappaola, Lappanaesthin, Lappanesthin, Lappaol-b, Lappaol-c, Lappaol-d, Lappaol-e, Lappaol-f, Lappaol-h, Lappaola, Lappaurin, Matairesinol, Neoarc-b, Neoarctin-b