Milk thistle is commonly found growing wild in a variety of settings, including roadsides. The Latin name of milk thistle is Silybum marianum. The seeds of the dried flower are used. Milk thistle's active ingredient is a flavonoid called silymarin, an antioxidant said to protect liver cells from toxins. Sylimarin apparently promotes liver cell protein synthesis and decreases the oxidation of glutathione.

Milk Thistle Extract  80% Silymarin, 60 Capsules -Club Natural

Milk Thistle Extract is standardized to 80% silymarin, the key constituent that exerts a protective effect against substances potentially harmful to the liver.


Milk Thistle Supplement Facts:
Milk thistle extract -  200 mg         
   (seed) standardized to 80% Silymarin

Recommendation: Take 1 milk thistle capsule daily or as recommended by your health care provider.

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Sign up to a FREE Supplement Research Update newsletter. Twice a month we email a brief abstract of several studies on supplements and natural medicine topics - including milk thistle benefit and milk thistle side effects - and their practical interpretation by Dr. Sahelian.

Milk Thistle benefit
Studies show silymarin, silibinin, and other flavonoids found in milk thistle may benefit in a number of conditions including alcoholic cirrhosis and tumors. Many compounds in milk thistle, for instance silibinin, have shown potent anti- prostate and anti-lung cancer activity.

Compounds in Milk Thistle
There are many compounds in milk thistle, mostly flavonoids, including silymarin, silybin, isosilybin, and silibinin.

Milk Thistle dosage
The dose of silymarin used in studies has ranged from 200 to 800 mg per day.

Milk Thistle side effects
No significant milk thistle side effects have yet been reported thus far with milk thistle extract but it is possible that, as more people take this herb, potential side effects could be uncovered. It is unlikely that milk thistle side effects exist in drinking the tea, but perhaps using several milk thistle extract capsules daily for prolonged periods could cause problems.

Milk thistle and diabetes
The efficacy of Silybum marianum (L.) Gaertn. (silymarin) in the treatment of type II diabetes: a randomized, double-blind, placebo-controlled, clinical trial.
Phytother Res. 2006 Dec;20(12):1036-9. Department of Pharmacology, Institute of Medicinal Plants, ACECR Tehran, Iran.
Oxidative stresses are increasingly implicated in the pathogenesis of diabetic complications which may either cause direct pancreatic beta-cell damage or lead to metabolic abnormalities that can induce or aggravate diabetes. The present study was designed to investigate the effects of the herbal medicine, milk thistle seed extract (silymarin), which is known to have antioxidant properties on the glycemic profile in diabetic patients. A 4-month randomized double-blind clinical trial was conducted in 51 type II diabetic patients in two well-matched groups. The first group (n = 25) received a silymarin (200 mg) tablet 3 times a day plus conventional therapy. The second group (n = 26) received the same therapy but a placebo tablet instead of silymarin. The results showed a significant decrease in HbA(1)c, FBS, total cholesterol, LDL, triglyceride SGOT and SGPT levels in milk thistle silymarin treated patients compared with placebo as well as with values at the beginning of the study in each group. In conclusion, milk thistle silymarin treatment in type II diabetic patients for 4 months has a beneficial effect on improving the glycemic profile.

Milk Thistle Research Update
Milk thistle, an herbal remedy used worldwide for liver disease, does not appear to be effective. Dr. Christian Gluud of Copenhagen University Hospital in Denmark, reviewed 13 clinical trials of milk thistle for liver disease due to alcoholism or hepatitis B or C. The gold standard for clinical trials is for them to be placebo-controlled and double-blind, meaning neither patients nor the study administrators know whether a patient is taking the real drug or placebo. Just six of the trials analyzed met this standard. The researchers found no effect of milk thistle versus placebo on mortality rates or liver disease complications. While the remedy appeared to reduce death from liver-related causes when all data was included, an analysis limited to the best-quality studies found no effect. No increased risk of adverse events was seen with milk thistle. SOURCE: The American Journal of Gastroenterology, November 2005.

Inhibition of telomerase activity and secretion of prostate specific antigen by silibinin in prostate cancer cells.
J Urol. 2004 May;171(5):1934-8.
Inhibition of telomerase activity and secretion of prostate specific antigen by silibinin in prostate cancer cells. CONCLUSIONS: The down-regulation of PSA by silibinin and its counteraction on DHT effects indicate that this compound can interact with the expression of genes that are regulated through the androgen receptor. Silibinin can also inhibit the telomerase activity that mediates cell immortality and carcinogenesis. The 2 effects underline the possible therapeutic use of silibinin as an antiproliferative agent in intervention for prostate cancer.

Silibinin ( found in Milk thistle ) causes cell cycle arrest and apoptosis in human bladder transitional cell carcinoma cells by regulating CDKI-CDK-cyclin cascade, and caspase 3 and PARP cleavages.
Carcinogenesis. 2004 Apr 29

Silibinin modulates CDKI-CDK-cyclin cascade and activates caspase 3 causing growth inhibition and apoptotic death of human TCC cells, providing a strong rationale for future studies evaluating preventive and/or intervention strategies for silibinin in bladder cancer pre-clinical models.
Carcinogenesis. 2004 Apr 29

Silymarin extraction from milk thistle using hot water.
Appl Biochem Biotechnol. 2004 Feb;114(1-3):559-68.
Hot water is attracting attention as an extraction solvent in the recovery of compounds from plant material as the search for milder and "greener" solvents intensifies. The use of hot water as an extraction solvent for milk thistle at temperatures above 100 degrees C was explored. The maximum extraction yield of each of the silymarin compounds and taxifolin did not increase with temperature, most likely because significant compound degradation occurred. However, the time required for the yields of the compounds to reach their maxima was reduced from 200 to 55 min when the extraction temperature was increased from 100 to 140 degrees C. Severe degradation of unprotected (plant matrix not present) silymarin compounds was observed and first-order degradation kinetics were obtained at 140 degrees C.

New prospects of using milk thistle (Silybum marianum) preparations
Eksp Klin Farmakol. 2004 Jul-Aug;67(4):77-80.
Well-known and newfound properties of milk thistle (Silybum marianum) preparations are considered (including hepatoprotector, immunostimulant, antiproliferative, antisclerotic, etc.) and the ways of their realization are analyzed.

The Clinical Utility of Milk Thistle (Silybum marianum) in Cirrhosis of the Liver.
J Herb Pharmcother. 2002;2(2):11-7.
Milk thistle (Silybum marianum) is a flowering herb utilized for its potentially protective effects on the liver. Although the mechanism of action is not fully understood, one explanation may be that it concentrates in the hepatocytes and competes with toxins for hepatocyte binding and penetration. Preliminary clinical evaluations of milk thistle for cirrhosis of the liver indicate potential benefits in healthier patients with alcoholic cirrhosis. However, major flaws in many of the studies make it difficult to draw solid conclusions. Milk thistle appears to be relatively safe, even with long-term use.

The Clinical Utility of Milk Thistle (Silybum marianum) in Cirrhosis of the Liver.
J Herb Pharmcother. 2002;2(2):11-7.
Milk thistle (Silybum marianum) is a flowering herb utilized for its potentially protective effects on the liver. Although the mechanism of action is not fully understood, one explanation may be that it concentrates in the hepatocytes and competes with toxins for hepatocyte binding and penetration. Preliminary clinical evaluations of milk thistle for cirrhosis of the liver indicate potential benefits in healthier patients with alcoholic cirrhosis. However, major flaws in many of the studies make it difficult to draw solid conclusions. Milk thistle appears to be relatively safe, even with long-term use.

Randomized controlled trial of silymarin treatment in patients with cirrhosis of the liver.
Hepatol. 1989 Jul;9(1):105-13.
Silymarin, the active principle of the milk thistle, protects experimental animals against various hepatotoxic substances. To determine the effect of silymarin on the outcome of patients with cirrhosis, a double blind, prospective, randomized study was performed in 170 patients with cirrhosis. 87 patients (alcoholic 46, non-alcoholic 41; 61 male, 26 female; Child A, 47; B, 37; C, 3; mean age 57) received 140 mg silymarin three times daily. 83 patients (alcoholic 45, non-alcoholic 38; 62 male, 21 female; Child A, 42; B, 32; C, 9: mean age 58) received a placebo. Non-compliant patients and patients who failed to come to a control were considered as 'drop outs' and were withdrawn from the study. All patients received the same treatment until the last patient entered had finished 2-years of treatment. The mean observation period was 41 months. There were 10 drop outs in the placebo group and 14 in the treatment group. In the placebo group, 37 (+2 drop outs) patients had died, and in 31 of these, death was related to liver disease. In the treatment group, 24 (+4 drop outs) had died, and in 18 of these, death was related to liver disease. The 4-year survival rate was 58 +/- 9% (S.E.) in silymarin-treated patients and 39 +/- 9% in the placebo group (P = 0.036). Analysis of subgroups indicated that treatment with silymarin in milk thistle was effective in patients with alcoholic cirrhosis (P = 0.01) and in patients initially rated 'Child A'. No side effects of drug treatment were observed.

Milk thistle - silybum marianum -- 80 to 200 mg extract (80% sylmarin) one to three times daily. May block toxins entering liver cells, antioxidant. Useful in liver disease.

Milk thistle availability by herb sellers
Milk Thistle extract is sold in a variety of concentrations including 70 percent silymarin, 80% silymarin or a 10 to 1 milk thistle extract.

Milk Thistle Questions
Q. Is is safe to take vit E with C and milk thistle? What about taking milk thistle with serrapeptase?
   A. No one can definitely promise 100 percent safety with the use of vitamin combinations, but milk thistle and vitamins C and E you mention are relatively benign and should be fine to use together if not used in excess. As to serrapeptase, we don't know enough about this enzyme to be certain how it interacts with medicines and herbs and vitamins.

Q. How do I take Milk Thistle, with an empty stomach, with food?
   A. Milk thistle can be taken with or without food.