Physicochemical Characteristics of Different Parts of Burdock (Arctium sp.)

Burdock (Arctium sp.) is known as a nutraceutical vegetable, especially in Japanese and Korean cuisine. While burdock plants are generally harvested for their tap roots, different parts of the plant are consumed as food or used as traditional medicines. This study investigated the physicochemical properties of the leaves, stems, roots, and peeled roots of the burdock plant based on their pH, soluble solid content, titratable acidity, color values, and mineral content. The pH differed significantly among the different plant parts, with the highest value in the leaves and the lowest in the stems. However, for the soluble solid content, the leaves had the lowest, while the peeled roots had the highest. The titratable acidity of the stems was significantly lower than that of the leaves, roots, and peeled roots. As regards the color values, the lightness value was highest for the stems, while the roots showed the highest redness value, followed by the peeled roots, and the leaves had the highest yellowness value. The leaves and stems contained almost three times more potassium than the roots and peeled roots. Thus, the higher content of different minerals in the leaves and stems of the burdock plant shows that these plant parts could be used as potential sources of dietary minerals.