Arctium lappa Seed Source & Identity
The botanical entity is Arctium lappa L., a biennial of the daisy family, Asteraceae, native to Europe and Asia. The part used is the seed, a small, grey-brown, wedge-shaped achene taken from the dried burr. The root, which is a food vegetable, and the leaves are not part of this burdock seed extract.
Seed and root of the same plant are different raw materials with different chemistry. The cocklebur, Xanthium, has a similar spiny fruit but belongs to another genus, and lesser burdock, Arctium minus, is a separate species whose seed is occasionally mixed into lots.
The seed carries the lignans arctiin and arctigenin, together with caffeic acid derivatives and a fixed oil.












