Milk Thistle: Silybum Marianum (Cardous Marianus)
An herbal detoxifier and protectant for your liver.
In Europe, silymarin, the purified extract of the fruits
of Silybum marianum, and its main constituent, silybin,
are used to maintain liver health and for the treatment of
diseases of the liver. Worldwide milk thistle is, deservedly,
one of the most commonly prescribed medicinal plants.
S. marianum is a medicinal plant which has been widely
used in traditional European medicine for centuries. It is
commonly known as milk thistle, St. Mary’s thistle and
lady’s thistle. It is native to southern Europe, southern
Russia, Asia Minor and North Africa. It has been naturalized
to North and South America.
Silybum marianum (L.) Gaertner (syn.
Carduus marianus L.) belongs to the Asteraceae
family (Compositae). It is a herbaceous annual
or biennial plant that grows up to six feet tall. It
is a widespread wayside herb of uncultivated ground
and waste places throughout its geographical range.
The plant was carried to North America by European colonists
at an early date (Pickering 1879).
Milk Thistle has a long therapeutic
history
This plant has been known since ancient times; it is a biblical
plant. It was mentioned by Theophrastus (4th century B.C.)
with the name of Pternix and by Pliny the Elder (1st century
A.D.) with the name of Sillybum. Von Haller (1744) in its
"Medizinischen Lexicon" documented the specific
use of the plant for liver disorders. In the 19th and 20th
centuries many authors such as Rademacher, Schulz and Henry
Leclerc mentioned the fruits of S. marianum for the
treatment of liver diseases, disorders of the bile duct and
spleen.
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Ancient use and modern studies verify
its safety and effectiveness
For over 2,000 years Europeans have used Milk Thistle seeds
as an herbal treatment for liver disorders. The plant has
been grown both as an ornamental and a vegetable. Virtually
all parts of the plant have been used as food with no reports
of toxicity. Animal experiments have shown that seed extracts
are safe, even in large doses, with practically no side effects,
as well as no embryo-toxic effect. Adverse effects in human
studies with the seed extract (silymarin) are also generally
absent. There are no contradications nor known side effects
of concern. It can be safely used by a wide range of persons,
including pregnant and lactating women, although it may have
a mild, transient laxative effect for some people.
Double blind studies on the effect of silymarin on toxic
liver damage (mostly induced by alcohol), chronic liver disease
and disease caused by certain drugs have been reviewed by
medical experts. They concluded that basic lab and clinical
data suggests silymarin is a therapeutically useful medicinal
plant product that stabilizes the cell membrane and stimulates
protein synthesis, while accelerating the process of regeneration
in damaged liver tissue, and that these effects are important
in the therapeutic efficacy of silymarin.
Over the past twenty+ years, intensive chemical, pharmacological,
and clinical research has confirmed mechanisms of action and
therapeutic value of silymarin in a wide range of human liver
disease, including toxic metabolic liver damage (such as fatty
degeneration of the liver) and supportive treatment of chronic
hepatitis and cirrhosis. Silymarin, derived from the seeds
of the plant (and most specifically, its main constituent,
silybin) has shown both protective and restorative effects
in liver disease. The plant is a primary example of the usefulness
of using historical efficacy as a starting point for the development
of modern applications for medicinal plants.
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Hundreds of studies have been conducted
Literally hundreds of research studies, mostly in Europe,
have confirmed the remarkable ability of milk thistle to protect
the liver against virtually all types of damage: from accidental
exposure to chemical pollutants, toxic side effects of medications,
liver diseases like hepatitis and even the self inflicted
damage from overindulgence of rich food and alcohol.
The United States National Library of Medicine has catalogued
more than 300 scientific studies of milk thistle and its active
compounds in their medicine database.
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How does it work?
Milk thistle seeds contain a bioflavonoid complex known as
silymarin. This constituent is responsible for the medical
benefits of the plant (according to Wagner H, Horhammer L,
Munster R. in their article "The chemistry of silymarin
(silybin), the active principle of the fruits of Silybum
marianum (l.) Gaertner", published in Arzneim-Forsch
Drug Research 1968; 18: 688-96.)
Silymarin is made up of three parts; silybin, silidianin
and silicristin. silybin is the most active and is largely
responsible for the benefits attributed to silymarin according
to Hikino h, Kiso Y, et al. In their article " Antihepatotoxic
actions of flavonolignans from Silybum marianum fruits",
published in Planta Medica 1984; 50:248-50.
According to other studies, milk thistle extract may protect
the cells of the liver by blocking the entrance of harmful
toxins and helping remove these toxins from the liver cells.
As with other bioflavonoids, silymarin is a powerful antioxidant.
Milk thistle also regenerates injured liver cells according
to Sonnenbichler J, Zetl I, in their article "Stimulating
influence of a flavonolignan dirivative on proliferation,
RNA synthesis and protein synthesis in liver cells".
Published in Assessment and Management of Hepatobiliary Disease
by Springer-Verlag.
As already stated, silymarin not only protects the liver
cells (hepatocytes) against toxic damage it also regenerates
them. It has been found in clinical studies to increase the
rate of synthesis of RNA through stimulation of nucleorlar
polymerase 1. This reinforces protein synthesis and accelerates
cell-regeneration processes. Thus, silymarin is a useful remedy
for chronic hepatitis, toxic fatty deposits in the liver and
cirrhosis.
In one double-blind study, silymarin significantly reduced
the mortality of patients with liver cirrhosis. The effect
was most pronounced in patients with alcohol-induced cirrhosis.
The mechanisms of action are reasoned to be based on the reduction
of the metabolic or toxic effects of alcohol on the liver.
One such action of silymarin is its ability to reduce hepatocellular
necrosis which, in turn, may delay or prevent the occurrence
of hepatic failure. Additionally, silymarin reduces collagen
deposition in the liver, thereby reducing circulatory changes,
particularly in the portal system.
In another double-blind, controlled study silymarin was shown
to decrease the serum glutamic pyruvate transaminase (SGPT)
and serum glutamic oxalacetic transaminase (SGOT) in patients
with liver disease. Serum total and conjugated bilirubin also
decreased during treatment. Significantly, liver biopsy showed
a clear improvement in histological alterations, namely decreased
fatty transformations. These findings indicate that silymarin
complex may have both a prophylactic and a remedial effect
on liver lesions.
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What conditions is milk thistle
best for?
Conditions indicating the use of milk thistle are varied.
Those who are receiving chemotherapy; chronic active hepatitis;
a history of cholelithiasis; HIV infection on a multi-drug
regimen; environmental sensitivities; a medical condition
that necessitates the use of hepatotoxic medications; regular
moderate-to –heavy alcohol use; and varicosities and/or
hemorrhoids. In most situations a moderate dose will result
in noticeable clinical improvement within two months of use.
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Highly regarded in Europe and
is gaining recognition in the U.S.
Many Europeans use milk thistle as a supplement to protect
their livers from the effects of alcohol or a polluted environment
or workplace. However, in Europe, as a prescribed medicine,
the milk thistle extract is also used to treat alcoholic cirrhosis,
chronic hepatitis, drug and alcohol-induced liver damage and
other disease such as acute viral hepatitis.
Many milk thistle products are available in the health food
stores in the U.S. today. Even some drug stores have milk
thistle extract on display for over-the-counter sales. These
products cannot be labeled with the benefits which have been
proven in European laboratories and clinics, but Americans
are gradually becoming aware of these benefits.
Silybum marianum is an extraordinarily useful herb
in today’s world. With our increasingly polluted environment,
our expanding reliance on often toxic medications and drugs,
and our exposure to infectious organisms that damage the liver,
our need for liver protection is tremendous. Milk thistle
figures prominently in our arsenal of hepatic protection.
More research is needed to further understand the mechanisms,
indications, and benefits of this immensely important medicinal
herb. In the meantime, our current understanding of milk thistle
justifiably promotes its use for many people.
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Standardized extracts increase milk
thistle’s potency
Standardized extracts make the active constituents of herbs
more effective. They isolate the most important compounds
and purify them to predictable dosages. The world’s best
selling milk thistle product is a standardized extract.
It takes 70 pounds of milk thistle seeds to make one pound
of extract purified to 70-80% silymarin (of which 80% is silybin,
the most active and helpful constituent). Even this standardized
extract has a problem though, inhibited bioavailability.
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The only problem with milk thistle
(and its solution)
The active ingredients of milk thistle are not very bioavailable,
especially in their purified or standardized forms. This means
one would need to ingest large amounts to experience beneficial
effects. Not only impractical, it could be quite expensive.
That is why the Phytosome®
process of Silybin Phytosome that Maximum
Milk Thistle™ uses is such a dramatic breakthrough.
It allows greater efficacy and is much more cost effective
when you look at the amount absorbed vs. the amount ingested.
The Phytosome®
process can be thought of as a supercharged delivery system.
It takes the most effective constituent and puts it into a
form that increases its uptake into the body’s tissues.
Now the potency of standardized extracts of milk thistle can
be multiplied by having the most important element absorbed
by the body 8 to 10 times more effectively
and delivered to where it will do the most good, your liver.
Learn
more about Maximum Milk Thistle™
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