Milk Thistle Extract
The milk thistle plant commonly grows from 2 to 7 feet in height, with spiny
leaves and reddish-purple, thistle-shaped flowers. It has also been called wild
artichoke, holy thistle and Mary thistle.
Native to Europe, milk thistle has a long history of use as both a food and a
medicine. At the turn of the twentieth century, English gardeners grew milk
thistle to use its leaves like lettuce (after cutting off the spines), the
stalks like asparagus, the roasted seeds like coffee, and the roots (soaked
overnight) like oyster plant. The seeds and leaves of milk thistle were used for
medicinal purposes as well, such as treating jaundice and increasing breast milk
production.
German researchers in the 1960s were sufficiently impressed with the history
and clinical effectiveness of milk thistle to begin examining it for active
constituents. In 1986, Germany's Commission E approved an oral extract of milk
thistle standardized to 70% crude silymarin content as a treatment for liver
disease.
What Is Milk Thistle Used for Today?
Based on the extensive folk use of milk thistle in cases of jaundice,
European medical researchers began to investigate its medicinal effects. It is
now widely used to treat alcoholic hepatitis, alcoholic fatty liver, liver
cirrhosis, liver poisoning, and viral hepatitis, as well as to protect the liver
from the effects of liver-toxic medications. According to some (but not all)
research evidence, treatment produces improvements in symptoms of chronic liver
disease, such as nausea, weakness, loss of appetite, fatigue, and pain.
Liver enzymes as measured by blood tests may improve, and if a liver biopsy
is performed, there may be improvements on the cellular level. In addition, some
studies have shown a reduction in death rate among those with serious liver
disease.
The active ingredients in milk thistle appear to be four substances known
collectively as silymarin, of which the most potent is named silibinin. When
injected intravenously, silibinin is one of the few known antidotes to poisoning
by the deathcap mushroom, Amanita phalloides. Animal studies suggest that milk
thistle extracts can also protect against many other poisonous substances, from
toluene to the drug acetaminophen. One animal study suggests that milk thistle
can also protect against fetal damage caused by alcohol.
Silymarin appears to function by displacing toxins trying to bind to the
liver as well as by causing the liver to regenerate more quickly. It may also
scavenge free radicals and stabilize liver cell membranes. However, milk thistle
is not effective in treating advanced liver cirrhosis, and only the intravenous
form can counter mushroom poisoning. There is considerable evidence from studies
in animals that milk thistle can protect the liver from numerous toxins.
However, human studies of people suffering from various liver diseases have
yielded mixed results.
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* These statements have not been
evaluated by the Food and Drug Administration. These products are not intended to
diagnose, treat, cure, or prevent any disease. This information is nutritional in nature
and should not be construed as medical advice. This notice is required by the Federal
Food, Drug and Cosmetic Act.
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Last modified:
July 22, 2011
