Great Burdock
BOTANY
Arctium majus Bernh (=A.lappa L.). Common name: great burdock. This plant is either biannual or
perennial; member of the Compositae (Asteraceae) family; it reaches up to 2m tall; hairy stems, which
are 5 cm in diameter; leaves are large, petioled, round-ovate, with wavy margins, up to 50cm long,
sometimes toothed.
The root is fleshy, brown, 25-75 cm long; the flowers are small, red to
purple, arranged in spherical capitula, which are 3-5 cm in diameter. The
fruit is a small achene, dark-brown, with a number of thorny hooks, which
normally stick to animals or to human clothes. Flowers appear since the
end of summer until the middle of autumn.
Great burdock is native to Europe, north of Asia and North America. It
grows in roadsides, river banks, walls, slopes, embankments, on clayish
nitrogen-rich soils.
Great burdock extract is produced from the roots of A.majus.
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CHEMISTRY
Polysaccharides
Inulin. This polysaccharide accounts for 30 to 50%.
Polyacetylene compounds
Tridecadiene-tetrayne and others.
Sulfur-containing acetylene compounds
Aretic acid, arctinone, arctinol, arctinal, etc.
Non-saturated compounds
Polyenes and polyines.
Phenol acids
Caffeic acid, chlorogenic, isochlorogenic and arctiin, a caffeic acid derivative.
Other active principles
Sesquiterpene lactones of the guaianolide type, phytohemagglutinin, phytosterols (β-sitosterol,
stigmasterol), tannins, essential oil (phenylacetaldehyde, benzaldehyde, 2- alkyl methoxypyrazines,
methylpyrazines), potassium salts, volatile acids (acetic, propionic, butyric, isovaleric, 3-hexanoic, 3octanoic and costic acids), non-hydroxylated acids (lauric, myristic, stearic, palmitic acids, etc.),
mucilage, flavonoids.
TRADITIONAL USES
This plant used to be much prized in the Middle Ages as a blood purifier. Its name comes from the Greek
arktos =«hairy» and lappa=«to grasp» in reference to the hooks on the fruits. During the XVIII and XIX
centuries, and beginning of the XX century, this plant was habitually used to treat secondary and tertiary
symptoms of syphilis. Great burdock root oil is often used to treat dandruff and hair-loss, due to its
possible effects on the mechanisms underlying seborrhoea. In some countries, infusions of great
burdock roots are used to treat rheumatism, gout, anorexia, bronchial and skin conditions.
COSMETIC PROPERTIES
Free radical scavenging activity
Lin, C.C. et al. (1996) carried out a study to evaluate the anti-inflammatory and free radical scavenger
effects of Arctium majus L. root. Subcutaneous administration of A. majus crude extract significantly
decreased carrageenan-induced rat plantar edema. When simultaneously treated with carbon
tetrachloride (CCl4) it produced pronounced activities against CCl4,-induced acute liver damage.
The free radical scavenging activity of its crude extract was also examined by using the Electron Spin
Resonance (ESR) technique. The IC50 of A. majus extract for superoxide and hydroxyl radical scavenger
activity was 2.06 mg/ml and 11.8 mg/ml, respectively.
The inhibitory effects on carrageenan-induced plantar edema and the CCl4-induced hepatotoxicity could
be due to the scavenging action of A. majus.
Therefore, great burdock extract is of great use to formulate cosmetic products with antioxidant and antiinflammatory activity.
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Sebum-regulatory activity
It has been found that the fresh pulp of great burdock roots, or concentrated decoctions of them, are
useful to treat face seborrhoea, impetigo and acne, all of these conditions apparently related to a
malfunctioning liver. It has been found especially beneficial on scaling eczema with immunological and
inflammatory involvement, where inulin would play a relevant role. Inhibition of Staphylococcus aureus
facilitates the control on this kind of infections, which are rather common in eczema patients (Alonso, J.,
2004).
Lin, S.C. et al. (2002) carried out a study in order to evaluate the hepatoprotective effects, of A.majus in
vivo on rats, which suffered from liver damages caused by chronic alcohol consumption and potentiated
by CCl4. The results suggested that the hepatotoxicity induced by ethanol and potentiated by CCl4 could
be alleviated by an A. majus treatment. The hepatoprotective mechanism of A. majus could be
attributed, at least in part, to its antioxidative activity, which decreases the oxidative stress of
hepatocytes, or to other unknown protective mechanisms.
Thus, great burdock extract is of great use to formulate cosmetic products with sebum-regulatory action.
Antimicrobial activity
Several research studies reported beneficial effects of great burdock root on multiple boils. Good results
were also found on infected varicose veins, adenitis, blepharitis, otitis, etc. According to some
researchers, the antibacterial efficacy spectrum of great burdock corresponded to that of penicillin, as
reported for early experiments in the forties and fifties.
Non-saturated compounds and arctiopicrin showed in vitro antibacterial activity against Gram (+) and
Gram (-) bacteria and opportunistic fungi. Indeed, non-saturated polyene compounds – of which fourteen
have been isolated – are transformed, under ultraviolet radiation, in strong antibacterial and antifungal
substances.
The antimicrobial action of great burdock has been attributed to its polyacetylene constituents. In
particular, great burdock root extract has shown activity against Gram negative microorganisms
(Escherichia coli, Shigella flexneri and Shigella sonnei).
(Alonso, J., 2004).
Therefore, great burdock extract is of great use to formulate cosmetic products with purifying and
antiseptic activity.
Finally, we would like to mention that the reference publication Plants in cosmetics. Vol. I (Council of
Europe, 1994), includes a monograph on the glycolic extract of A.lappa root, which mentions the
following cosmetic effects and maximum recommended concentrations:


emollient, calming, purifying, sebostatic
up to 5% in hair care products (shampoo, massage) and products for greasy impure skin.
other possible effects: lenitive, anti-seborrhea, antiseptic
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COSMETIC APPLICATIONS
Action
Active
Cosmetic Application
Free radicals scavenger
-
-Antioxidant
-Anti-inflammatory
Sebum-regulatory
Inulin
-Sebum-regulatory
Antimicrobial
Polyacetylene
compounds
-Purifying
-Antiseptic
RECOMMENDED DOSE
The recommended dose is between 0.5% and 5.0%.
BIBLIOGRAPHY
Alonso, J. Tratado de Fitofármacos y Nutracéuticos. Barcelona: Corpus, 2004, p: 201-204 (633.8 ALO).
Council of Europe. Plants preparations used as ingredients of cosmetic products. Strasbourg Cedex:
Council of Europe Publishing, 1994; p: 102-103 (61*8 PAT).
Lin, C.C., Lu, J.M., Yang, J.J., Chiang, S.C., Ujiie, T. Anti-inflammatory and radical scavenge effects of
Arctium lappa. Am J Chin Med, 1996; 24 (2): 127-37.
Lin, S.C., Lin, C.H., Lin, C.C., Lin, Y.H., Chen, C.F., Chen, I.C., Wang, L.Y. Hepatoprotective effects of
Arctium lappa on liver injuries induced by chronic ethanol consumption and potentiated by carbon
tetrachloride. J Biomed Sci, 2002. Sep-Oct; 9(5): 401-9.
Web sites:
www.fitoterapia.net [accessed July 2006].
www.ars-grin.gov/cgi-bin/npgs/html/taxon.pl?423312 [accessed July 2006].
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