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blessed thistle

spice or herb / spice-blessed-thistle

ベネディクトアザミ / Cnicus benedictus

Blessed thistle is a candidate bitter plant consisting of the dried flowering aerial parts of blessed thistle. An official assessment records cnicin.

On this page (7 sections)
  1. Overview
  2. Sources for this overview (1)
  3. Topic hubs
  4. Follow the connections
  5. Related entries (10)
  6. Composition and content (2)
  7. Culture (1)
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Reading the bitterness

The dried flowering aerial parts of blessed thistle contain 0.2-0.7% cnicin, and the source records a bitter index of 1:1800. These are the content and index given in a medicinal raw material source, and not a value that guarantees the bitterness intensity of a mouthful in cooking or the safety of food use.

A public assessment report regards the sesquiterpene lactones of blessed thistle as bitter constituents, citing mainly cnicin. This is a secondary account in which the assessment report introduces BHC 1992, and the cited source has not been independently confirmed. The record does not extend this positioning as a bitter constituent to a demonstration of bitterness intensity or effect in food.

Sources for this overview

  1. Assessment report on Cnicus benedictus L., herba

    European Medicines Agency; Committee on Herbal Medicinal Products / 2023 / government document / full text checked

    Checked for this overview: Matched the medicinal raw material source's index of 0.2-0.7% cnicin and a bitter index of 1:1800 with the caveat that this is not generalized to food use. / Matched the assessment report's secondary account, via BHC 1992, of sesquiterpene lactones and mainly cnicin as bitter constituents with the fact that the original source has not been confirmed.

Follow the connections

blessed thistle →— major bitter compound→ cnicin

Structured claims — open a section to read each claim's confidence, evidence and limits

Composition and content (2)

blessed thistle — major bitter compound: cnicincontextual

Scope: The dried flowering aerial parts of Cnicus benedictus

Note: The EMA assessment report records 0.2-0.7% and a bitter index of 1:1800. Food use and safety require separate verification.

Context: The dried flowering aerial parts contain 0.2-0.7% cnicin, recorded with a bitter index of 1:1800.
Limitations: Not a re-measurement of the original primary source, and it does not guarantee the safe food use of the medicinal raw material.
Source: Assessment report on Cnicus benedictus L., herba (European Medicines Agency; Committee on Herbal Medicinal Products, 2023) · full text checked
Show dataspice-blessed-thistle —has_major_bitter_compound→ compound-cnicin
claim: clm-blessed-thistle-cnicin / type: composition / updated: 2026-08-31
blessed thistle — key compounds involved in bitterness: A public assessment records that sesquiterpene lactones in blessed thistle are regarded as bitter constituents, mainly cnicin.contextual

Scope: Layer: literature. A review of literature in the nonclinical data section (primary pharmacology) of an EMA assessment.

Context: The source states "Sesquiterpene lactones present in blessed thistle are considered to be bitter constituents (mainly cnicin) ..." (followed by a description of reflex effects on salivary and gastric secretion, citing BHC, 1992). Immediately afterward it explicitly says "No pharmacological studies demonstrating this activity have been found."
Limitations: The original primary source (BHC, 1992) could not be checked independently. The text immediately states that no studies demonstrating the pharmacological activity were found; the proposed mechanism has no supporting demonstration. This is a different section from the existing ev-blessed-thistle-cnicin (Section 1.2, content and bitter index).
Source: Assessment report on Cnicus benedictus L., herba (European Medicines Agency; Committee on Herbal Medicinal Products, 2023) · full text checked
Show dataspice-blessed-thistle —has_key_bitter_organoleptics→ "A public assessment records that sesquiterpene lactones in blessed thistle are regarded as bitter constituents, mainly cnicin."
claim: clm-w72b3-blessedthistle-sesquiterpenelactones-bitter / type: composition / updated: 2026-09-08

Culture (1)

blessed thistle is used as Spices and herbs that add bitter flavor and aroma to dishes and drinksunverified

Scope: A candidate at the level of general knowledge. Regional and naming differences have not been confirmed.

No source connected — this claim has not been verified yet. It is a general-knowledge placeholder, not a confirmed statement.

Show dataspice-blessed-thistle —is_used_as→ "Spices and herbs that add bitter flavor and aroma to dishes and drinks"
claim: clm-spice-blessed-thistle-candidate-role / type: cultural / updated: 2026-08-31

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