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Common names: Holy thistle, Marythistle, St. Mary's thistle, Marian thistle
Botanical names: Silybum marianum, Carduus marianus
Historical or traditional use (may or may not be supported by scientific studies): Medical use of milk thistle can be traced back more than 2,000 years. Nicholas Culpeper, the well-known 17th-century pharmacist, cited its use for opening "obstructions" of the liver and spleen and recommended it for the treatment of jaundice.
Active constituents: The dried fruit of milk thistle contain a flavonoid complex known as silymarin. This constituent is responsible for the medical benefits of the plant.1 Silymarin is made up of three parts: silibinin, silidianin, and silicristin. Silibinin is the most active and is largely responsible for the benefits attributed to silymarin.2
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.3 4 As with other bioflavonoids, silymarin is a powerful antioxidant.5 Silymarin has also been shown to regenerate injured liver cells.6 Recent studies have shown that silymarin has the ability to block fibrosis, a process that contributes to the eventual development of cirrhosis in people with inflammatory liver conditions secondary to diseases such as alcohol abuse or hepatitis.7
Milk thistle extract is most commonly recommended to counteract the harmful actions of alcohol on the liver. Double-blind trials indicate that it helps the liver return to a healthy state once a person stops drinking.8 9 Some trials suggest it may improve quality of life and even life expectancy in people with liver cirrhosis.10 11 However, another trial found no effect in cirrhosis patients.12 Milk thistle alters bile makeup, thereby potentially reducing risk of gallstones.13 However, this needs to be verified by human clinical trials. Milk thistle extract has been shown to protect the liver from the potentially damaging effect of drugs used to treat schizophrenia and other forms of psychosis.14 However, one trial found that it did not protect the liver from the potentially harmful effects of the drug Cognex (tacrine hydrochloride) used to treat early-stage Alzheimer's disease. 15
How much is usually taken? For liver disease and impaired liver function, research suggests the use of 420–600 mg of silymarin per day from an herbal extract of milk thistle standardized to 80% silymarin content.16 According to research and clinical experience, improvement should be noted in about eight to twelve weeks. For people with chronic liver disease, milk thistle extract may be considered a long-term therapy.
For those who prefer, 12–15 grams of milk thistle dried fruits can be ground and eaten or made into a tea. This should not be considered therapeutic for conditions of the liver, however.
Are there any side effects or interactions? Milk thistle extract is virtually devoid of any side effects and may be used by most people, including pregnant and breast-feeding women. In fact, it has been recommended as a treatment for itching due to poor gallbladder function during pregnancy.17 Since silymarin stimulates liver and gallbladder activity, it may have a mild, transient laxative effect in some people. This will usually cease within two to three days.
There is one case report of a 57-year-old Australian woman experiencing several episodes of nausea, abdominal pain, vomiting and weakness after taking a milk thistle preparation.18 This case is so atypical, however, that the Adverse Drug Reactions Advisory Committee of Australia questioned whether the product taken might not have contained other herbs or additives that could be responsible for the adverse reaction.
Botanical names: Silybum marianum, Carduus marianus
Historical or traditional use (may or may not be supported by scientific studies): Medical use of milk thistle can be traced back more than 2,000 years. Nicholas Culpeper, the well-known 17th-century pharmacist, cited its use for opening "obstructions" of the liver and spleen and recommended it for the treatment of jaundice.
Active constituents: The dried fruit of milk thistle contain a flavonoid complex known as silymarin. This constituent is responsible for the medical benefits of the plant.1 Silymarin is made up of three parts: silibinin, silidianin, and silicristin. Silibinin is the most active and is largely responsible for the benefits attributed to silymarin.2
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.3 4 As with other bioflavonoids, silymarin is a powerful antioxidant.5 Silymarin has also been shown to regenerate injured liver cells.6 Recent studies have shown that silymarin has the ability to block fibrosis, a process that contributes to the eventual development of cirrhosis in people with inflammatory liver conditions secondary to diseases such as alcohol abuse or hepatitis.7
Milk thistle extract is most commonly recommended to counteract the harmful actions of alcohol on the liver. Double-blind trials indicate that it helps the liver return to a healthy state once a person stops drinking.8 9 Some trials suggest it may improve quality of life and even life expectancy in people with liver cirrhosis.10 11 However, another trial found no effect in cirrhosis patients.12 Milk thistle alters bile makeup, thereby potentially reducing risk of gallstones.13 However, this needs to be verified by human clinical trials. Milk thistle extract has been shown to protect the liver from the potentially damaging effect of drugs used to treat schizophrenia and other forms of psychosis.14 However, one trial found that it did not protect the liver from the potentially harmful effects of the drug Cognex (tacrine hydrochloride) used to treat early-stage Alzheimer's disease. 15
How much is usually taken? For liver disease and impaired liver function, research suggests the use of 420–600 mg of silymarin per day from an herbal extract of milk thistle standardized to 80% silymarin content.16 According to research and clinical experience, improvement should be noted in about eight to twelve weeks. For people with chronic liver disease, milk thistle extract may be considered a long-term therapy.
For those who prefer, 12–15 grams of milk thistle dried fruits can be ground and eaten or made into a tea. This should not be considered therapeutic for conditions of the liver, however.
Are there any side effects or interactions? Milk thistle extract is virtually devoid of any side effects and may be used by most people, including pregnant and breast-feeding women. In fact, it has been recommended as a treatment for itching due to poor gallbladder function during pregnancy.17 Since silymarin stimulates liver and gallbladder activity, it may have a mild, transient laxative effect in some people. This will usually cease within two to three days.
There is one case report of a 57-year-old Australian woman experiencing several episodes of nausea, abdominal pain, vomiting and weakness after taking a milk thistle preparation.18 This case is so atypical, however, that the Adverse Drug Reactions Advisory Committee of Australia questioned whether the product taken might not have contained other herbs or additives that could be responsible for the adverse reaction.