Cynara scolymus L. is is a perennial plant native to the Mediterranean region a variety of a species of thistle cultivated as a food.This review article was carried out by searching studies in PubMed, Medline, Web of Science, and Iran Medex databases. The initial search strategy identified about 102 references. In this study, 42 studies was accepted for further screening and met all our inclusion criteria [in English, full text, therapeutic effects of Cynara scolymus L. and dated mainly from the year 2008 to 2016.The search terms were “Cynara scolymus L.”, “therapeutic properties”, “pharmacological effects”. It is commonly used for milk clotting effect, Antioxidant effect, Anti-cancer effect, Prebiotic activity, Anti-metabolic syndrome, Functional properties, Anti-fungal effect, Antiulcerogenic effect, Anti-obesity, Genotoxicity effect, Antiphotoaging activity, Synergetic effect, Hypoglycemic effect, Bifid genic effect, Prebiotic effect, Mitochondrial respiratory chain system activity, Antihypercholesterolemic effect, Xanthinoxidase inhibitory activity. Cynara scolymus L. l. is widely used for therapeutic and non-therapeutic purposes that trigger its significant value. However, more studies about the other useful and unknown properties of this multipurpose plant is essential.
