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Western herbalism · Traditional Chinese medicine

BurdockArctium lappa

A root eaten as a vegetable; Chinese medicine uses the fruit. EMA lists a traditional use for appetite, found no clinical studies; the root is about 45 percent inulin.

Botanical name
Arctium lappa
Part used
root (Western use); ripe fruit or seed (Chinese use)
Also called
pinyin Niu bang zi (fruit); Niu bang gen (root) (牛蒡子 / 牛蒡根); Great burdock, Gobo (Japanese root vegetable), Beggar's buttons
Used in
Western herbalism, Traditional Chinese medicine
Taken for
Appetite, Liver and bile, Constipation
Sold as
dried root, tea, capsules, tincture, liquid extract, fresh root (food)

Burdock, the plant and the part used

Burdock is a biennial plant of the daisy family (Asteraceae) with large leaves and round, hooked burs. Two parts are used. The root, dug in autumn of the first year or spring of the second, is a food in Japan, where it is eaten as gobo, and a herbal remedy in Europe and North America, usually as a decoction or tea. The ripe fruit, often called the seed, is the part used in Chinese medicine.

EMA’s assessment report notes that the dried root can be up to 70 percent carbohydrate by weight, mainly inulin at about 45 percent. Inulin is a fermentable fiber that feeds some gut bacteria; in one study, root inulin at 1 percent promoted the growth of “beneficial bacteria” in culture and in mice, and studies in people are lacking. The root also contains polyacetylenes and, in the fruit, lignans such as arctiin and arctigenin.

Burdock is sold as dried root for tea, capsules of powdered root, tinctures and liquid extracts, the fresh root as a vegetable, and in blends marketed for digestion and skin. Results for one part do not transfer to another.

Traditional uses, in their own terms

Western herbalism

European herbal texts, as summarized in EMA’s assessment report, treat burdock root as a diuretic and diaphoretic remedy thought to stimulate hepato-biliary function, and say the root has been used orally in popular medicine for gastrointestinal complaints and loss of appetite. On that basis EMA has a traditional-use monograph for three indications: increasing urine flow in minor urinary complaints, temporary loss of appetite, and seborrheic skin conditions. Texts also use the root for gout, rheumatism and as a laxative for urinary stones, jaundice and boils. These uses rest on long-standing practice; EMA states that clinical studies were not found.

Traditional Chinese medicine (about TCM)

Chinese medicine uses the ripe fruit as niu bang zi. A practitioner reference classes it as cold, acrid and bitter, entering the lung and stomach channels, and lists its actions as dispersing wind-heat from the exterior, clearing heat and resolving toxicity, venting rashes, and moistening the intestines to unblock the bowels, a mild laxative action. The one bowel indication given is constipation together with wind-heat features. The same source warns against it in spleen-deficient cold loose stools, where its cold nature and laxative effect would aggravate the picture. A review of burdock’s uses says the root, in TCM terms, “detoxifies” blood and promotes circulation to the skin surface.

Compounds, and what the laboratory says about them

The root's bulk is carbohydrate, with inulin about 45 percent of dry mass according to EMA. It also contains polyacetylenes (including sulfur-containing thiophene types), fatty acids and sterol-type compounds. The fruit contains lignans, notably arctiin and arctigenin, which in cell and animal work show anti-inflammatory and other effects. A review of the fruit lists lignans, volatile oil, flavonoids, sesquiterpenoids and triterpenes. The laboratory findings on antioxidant, anti-inflammatory and blood-sugar actions come from cell and animal studies and are not evidence of a digestive effect in people.

Trials in people, with the numbers

EMA found no clinical studies of burdock root for its listed uses, and the monograph is for traditional use only. We could find no randomized trial of burdock on any gut outcome: not appetite, constipation, bloating or bile flow.

The human trials that exist are on other subjects. In a randomized trial of 36 adults with knee osteoarthritis, who all continued acetaminophen and glucosamine, those given three cups a day of burdock root tea (2 g of root in 150 mL of water per cup) for 42 days had lower serum interleukin-6 (P = 0.002), high-sensitivity C-reactive protein (P = 0.003) and malondialdehyde (P < 0.001) than controls on plain water, and higher antioxidant capacity. That trial says nothing about digestion.

The gut-relevant claims are laboratory. A review of burdock’s pharmacology covers root, seed and leaf constituents in cell and animal models and warns of contact dermatitis and other allergic reactions. A review of the fruit finds clinical studies are lacking. The prebiotic idea rests on EMA’s citation of in-vitro and mouse work with root inulin. Whether eating the root or taking capsules changes stool habits, appetite or the microbiome in people has not been tested in anything we found.

StudyDoseWhat it found
Randomized trial, 36 adults with knee osteoarthritis (not a gut outcome) PMID 253505003 cups a day of burdock root tea, 2 g per 150 mL, 42 daysLower IL-6 (P = 0.002), hs-CRP (P = 0.003), malondialdehyde (P < 0.001) than control
Review of the pharmacology of Arctium lappa (root, seed, leaf) PMID 20981575Not applicableCell and animal effects summarized; contact dermatitis and allergy noted
Overview of Fructus arctii (fruit): traditional uses, pharmacology, chemistry PMID 34612502Not applicableAntioxidant, anti-inflammatory, hypoglycemic effects in experiments; calls for clinical studies
Report of anticholinergic poisonings after commercial burdock root tea PMID 6535850Commercial root teaAtropine-like poisoning; EMA notes the tea was contaminated with a solanaceous alkaloid source

The doses on record

The EMA traditional-use monograph lists, for adults and the elderly, 2 to 6 g of comminuted root as an infusion three times daily; powdered root 350 mg three to five times daily; liquid extract 2 to 8 ml three times daily; soft extract 0.2 g (daily 1 to 2 g); and tinctures of 8 to 12 ml three times daily. Use under 18 is not advised. For the urinary and appetite indications EMA says to consult a practitioner if symptoms last longer than 2 weeks, and for skin 4 weeks; non-tea preparations need adequate fluid intake. The osteoarthritis trial used 2 g of root in 150 mL, three times a day, for 42 days.

None of this is a dose recommendation. It is what the literature used, set down so a label can be compared with it; a pharmacist or clinician decides what applies to you.

The safety record

EMA lists anaphylactic shock among undesirable effects, frequency unknown, and contraindicates the root in hypersensitivity to the Asteraceae family. The assessment report records one serious allergic case: a 53-year-old man with anaphylaxis after eating boiled burdock root. It also notes contact dermatitis from burdock plasters, probably from sesquiterpene lactones. Safety in pregnancy and breastfeeding is not established and the monograph does not advise use.

Contamination is a documented concern. A commercial burdock root tea caused atropine-like poisoning, and analysis showed the tea contained a source of solanaceous alkaloids, possibly belladonna root. EMA says the quality of the raw root should be checked rigorously because of this. The assessment report concludes the root can be considered safe under the monograph conditions of use.

Medicines it can interact with

The EMA monograph reports no interactions with other medicines but advises against using the root for the urinary indication together with synthetic diuretics, since burdock has a diuretic action. We found no clinical interaction study of burdock. The poisoning reports linked to burdock root tea involved belladonna-type alkaloids from contamination, a product-quality problem rather than a property of the herb, and they are the reason EMA tells manufacturers to check the raw root.

The interaction rules the quiz applies to burdock

These are the medicines the quiz pairs with a caution or an exclusion for this herb, taken from published interaction references:

Where burdock turns up in the catalog

Burdock appears on the labels below, alone or inside a blend; each product page gives the printed amount, the evidence for that product and the review picture.

Inno Supps Inno Cleanse 4.1 out of 5 from 12,407 ratings from Amazon · $1.33 a day Omyo GLP-1 Digestive Support 4.8 out of 5 from 2,814 ratings from omyohealth.com · $2.00 a day Grow Young Fitness Daily Probiotic + Prebiotic Fiber 4.9 out of 5 from 1,863 ratings from growyoungshop.com · $2.00 a day Urban Moonshine Original Digestive Bitters 4.4 out of 5 from 1,409 ratings from Amazon · $0.68 a day The Mate Factor Digestive Tea with Prebiotics 4.5 out of 5 from 345 ratings from Amazon · $0.32 per cup on the brand’s store ($6.47 for 20 bags); $0.40 on Amazon; the box says to drink it whenever desired

From the herb to a product that fits you

The quiz weighs your symptoms and medicines against every product researched here, burdock products included, and shows its working.

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Questions people ask

Has burdock been tested for digestion?

We could find no randomized trial of burdock for appetite, constipation or any other gut outcome. EMA found no clinical studies either, and its monograph rests on traditional use. The human trial we found tested root tea in knee osteoarthritis.

Is burdock a prebiotic?

The root is about 45 percent inulin by dry weight according to EMA, and inulin from burdock promoted the growth of beneficial bacteria in culture and in mice. No human study has tested burdock for this.

What are the two parts used in different traditions?

Western herbalism and the EMA monograph use the root. Chinese medicine uses the ripe fruit, niu bang zi, for wind-heat patterns and, in the tradition’s terms, to moisten the intestines and unblock the bowels.

Why was burdock root tea linked to poisoning?

A commercial burdock root tea caused atropine-like poisoning after it was found to be contaminated with an alkaloid source thought to be belladonna root. Atropine is not a constituent of burdock. The case is a quality problem with that product.

Who is warned off burdock?

The EMA monograph contraindicates it in people hypersensitive to the daisy family and does not advise use in pregnancy, breastfeeding or under age 18. Anaphylaxis has been reported.

Sources