Milk Thistle/Silymarin

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90 capsules

Liver Support Complex

Actives tailored to the liver

€29,90 (€524,56/kg)

60 capsules

Milk Thistle

210 mg silymarin

€12,90

60 capsules

Liver Stack

Liver support

€19,90

Names: Silybum marianum, Milk Thistle, Silymarin, Carduus marianus, Carthamus maculatus, Cirsium maculatum, Mariana mariana, Silybum maculatum.

Originally native to the Mediterranean region, the biennial thistle was mainly known as a vegetable in antiquity and played only a minor role as a medicinal plant. Hildegard von Bingen mentioned the plant as a remedy for stitches in the side in accordance with the doctrine of signatures, in which external plant characteristics are assumed to indicate a specific effect (a prickly plant helps against stabbing pains). It was not until the mid-19th century that its effect on the liver was recognized, which was confirmed by scientific investigations in the 20th century. The origin of Silybum marianum is Argentina, China, Romania, and Hungary.

Description of the parent plant

An annual or biennial plant growing 60 to 150 cm tall, with an upright, branched, richly leafy stem. Sessile, glossy green, sinuately lobed leaves with milky-white veins and a spiny margin. Flower heads solitary, 4 to 5 cm long, with purple tubular florets and long, stiffly upright or recurved bracts with spiny tips. Fruits up to 7 mm long, brownish-yellow marbled to black, crowned by a white pappus.

Where does the name come from?

Originally, the plant was named Carduus marianus by Linnaeus (derived from the Latin word "carduus" = thistle) and was only later transferred to its own genus Silybum. Silybum is derived from the Greek "silybon" = tassel. The Milk Thistle was known under these names in antiquity and was also referred to as such by Dioscorides. The German name Mariendistel refers to a legend. The Virgin Mary is said to have spilled a few drops of milk over the leaves while nursing, which is how they received their white marbling.

Constituents

At least 1.5%, on average 1.5 to 3%, of the flavonolignans known as silymarin, which is a mixture of the three main components silibinin (a mixture of the diastereomers silybin A and silybin B), isosilibinin (a mixture of the diastereomers isosilybin A and isosilybin B), silychristin, and silydianin, as well as a large number of minor components. Further constituents include numerous flavonoids, 20 to 30% fatty oil, 25 to 30% protein, and some mucilage.

Silymarin and its mode of action

The liver - the catalyst

The largest gland in the human body performs heavy labor every day, on the one hand to process countless substances so that they are suited to the body's needs, and on the other hand to rid the organism of harmful substances. In contrast to many other organs, which announce overload through all kinds of warning signals, it is a silent organ in the truest sense of the word, which practically never makes itself noticeable through immediately perceptible signs. As the body's metabolic and detoxification center, it regulates not only protein, fat, and sugar metabolism but also the mineral, vitamin, and hormone balance, while at the same time disposing of foreign substances that are harmful to the organism. With its 24-hour workload, the liver has to cope with a great deal, and our modern way of life, full of hustle and stress, with irregular, rich, and often overly fatty meals, frequently one glass of alcohol too many, and often combined with the intake of chemical drugs, forces the organ to perform at peak levels practically all the time.

Service for the high-performance engine

To preserve our life energy undiminished, the liver, as our "engine," must run smoothly and evenly. A healthy liver is able to cope with a certain amount of strain without difficulty.

However, if the liver is burdened beyond its natural capacity by too many foreign substances (pollutants from food and the environment, alcohol, chemical substances, e.g., in medications), the breakdown of these foreign substances increasingly produces highly reactive, aggressive substances, so-called "free radicals," which attack cell membranes and can lastingly impair our metabolic functions. Even though this detoxification organ itself does not hurt, we soon feel the...

Symptoms of an overloaded liver

Listlessness
reduced performance up to and including persistent tiredness
difficulty concentrating
a feeling of fullness
loss of appetite
nausea and
digestive disorders

Where can Milk Thistle help?

Dry extracts obtained from the fruits with lipophilic extraction agents contain the active complex silymarin. They are used for the supportive treatment of chronic inflammatory liver diseases, liver cirrhosis, or conditions caused by liver toxins such as alcohol. The efficacy of the silymarin contained in the fruits has been demonstrated in various clinical studies. The effect is based on protection of the liver cells on the one hand; in addition, the regenerative capacity of the liver cells is increased, and the liver tissue can recover. Tea preparations, on the other hand, contain hardly any silymarin and are used in folk medicine for digestive complaints.

Mechanism of action

Various mechanisms are presumably responsible for the liver-protective effect. Membrane effects are mentioned first, i.e., a change occurs in the outer structure of the hepatocytes, with the result that liver toxins cannot penetrate into the interior of the cells. In addition, silymarin stimulates the biosynthesis of nucleic acids and proteins in the hepatocytes, which is based on an increase in the activity of polymerase I (rRNA polymerase). Besides these effects, a number of further effects are probably responsible for the action, among which the antiperoxidative effects appear to be the most significant. Activity of the For the treatment of organic brain-related performance disorders in dementia syndromes with dizziness, ringing in the ears, headaches, memory weakness, difficulty concentrating, and mood lability with anxiety as the most important symptoms. Before starting treatment, it should be clarified whether the symptoms mentioned are not due to an underlying disease requiring specific treatment. Furthermore, for peripheral arterial circulatory disorders and for tinnitus (ringing in the ears).

An energy cure for a vital liver

Silymarin acts preventively and protects the liver cells not only through its membrane-stabilizing effect but is also able to intercept the highly reactive, aggressive "free radicals" that also accumulate in greater amounts during increased breakdown of foreign substances. In this way, destruction of cell membranes can be prevented.

Less itching, better liver values

Over a treatment period of three months, the patients took one to three capsules of 140 mg silymarin daily. Under the treatment, not only the clinical symptoms (nausea, bloating, itching, tiredness, and upper abdominal pressure) improved, but also liver function.

This could be seen in an improvement or even normalization of GOT, GPT, AP, and bilirubin. And in almost all patients who had shown elevated PIIIP values at the start of the study, this parameter decreased, in some cases markedly, which is to be interpreted as an expression of reduced fibrogenesis. With Milk Thistle extract, an effective, easy-to-use and – which is particularly important in cases of a pre-damaged liver – well-tolerated therapy option for chronic liver complaints is available. According to Prof. Schuppan, silymarin can be given, on the one hand, for example, in cases of alcoholic liver damage that is not yet very advanced – although abstinence from alcohol is of course the top priority. On the other hand, patients with advanced liver disease (hepatitis, alcoholic cirrhosis) who have exhausted other treatment options also benefit.

Further health benefits of Milk Thistle

Milk Thistle could help prevent an age-related decline in brain function

Milk Thistle has been used for over 2000 years as a traditional remedy for the treatment of neurological conditions such as Alzheimer's and Parkinson's disease. The anti-inflammatory and antioxidant properties of this plant mean that it may possess neuroprotective properties and could help prevent the decline in brain function that occurs with increasing age (2, 3).

In studies conducted in animals and in test tubes, it was shown that Milk Thistle can prevent oxidative damage to brain cells, which could prevent a decline in mental function (4, 5). In these studies, it was also observed that Milk Thistle might be able to reduce the amount of amyloid plaques in the brains of animals with Alzheimer's (6, 7). Amyloid plaques are sticky clusters of amyloid proteins that can form between nerve cells during aging. They are observed in very large amounts in the brains of people with Alzheimer's, which means that Milk Thistle could potentially be used for the treatment of Alzheimer's (8). At present, however, there are no human studies that have examined these effects of Milk Thistle in people with Alzheimer's or other neurological conditions such as dementia. Furthermore, it is still unclear whether Milk Thistle is absorbed well enough in humans to allow adequate amounts of the active compounds it contains to cross the blood-brain barrier. It is also unknown what dosage would be needed to produce a desirable effect (9).

Milk Thistle could protect the bones

Osteoporosis is a condition caused by progressive bone loss. It usually develops slowly over several years and leads to weak and brittle bones that break easily, even with minor falls. In experimental in vitro studies and investigations conducted in animals, it was shown that Milk Thistle stimulates bone mineralization and could possibly protect against bone loss (10, 11). As a result, scientists suspect that Milk Thistle could represent a useful therapy for preventing or delaying bone loss in postmenopausal women (12, 13). At present, however, there are no human studies that have examined the effects of Milk Thistle on bone density.

Milk Thistle could support cancer treatment

It is suspected that the antioxidant effects of silymarin could have anticancer effects that might be useful for people undergoing cancer treatment (14). Some studies conducted in animals have shown that Milk Thistle could help reduce the side effects of cancer treatment (15, 16). Milk Thistle could also make chemotherapy against certain types of cancer more effective and, in some cases, even destroy cancer cells (17, 18, 19). So far, however, there are only a few human studies, and it has yet to be shown that Milk Thistle produces clinical effects in humans. One obstacle could be that not enough of the active compounds can be absorbed to achieve a medicinal effect. Further studies are therefore needed before it can be said with certainty that Milk Thistle can be used as a complementary cancer treatment.

Milk Thistle can increase milk production

One effect of Milk Thistle is that it can increase milk production in breastfeeding women. It is believed that this occurs through an increase in levels of the milk-producing hormone prolactin. The scientific data on this are limited, but one randomized controlled trial found that mothers who took 420 mg of silymarin per day for 63 days produced 64% more milk than women who received only a placebo (20). However, this is the only clinical study on the subject. Further investigations are therefore needed to determine these results and the safety of Milk Thistle for breastfeeding women.

Milk Thistle could help in the treatment of acne

Acne is a chronic inflammatory condition. Even though it is not dangerous, it can cause scarring. Some people also find acne painful and feel embarrassed because of its effects on their appearance. It is suspected that oxidative stress in the body could play a role in the development of acne. Due to its antioxidant and anti-inflammatory effects, Milk Thistle could be a useful supplement for people with acne. Interestingly, a study of subjects suffering from acne found that the subjects who took 210mg of silymarin daily for 8 weeks experienced a 53% reduction in their acne lesions (21). However, this is only one study, and further investigations are therefore needed.

Milk Thistle can lower blood sugar levels in diabetics

Milk Thistle could represent a useful complementary treatment for type 2 diabetes. It has been discovered that a compound contained in Milk Thistle could act similarly to some diabetes medications by increasing insulin sensitivity and lowering blood sugar levels (23). In fact, a recent review of studies concluded that people who regularly took silymarin experienced a significant reduction in their fasting blood sugar levels and their HbA1c value – a marker of blood sugar control (24). In addition, the antioxidant and anti-inflammatory properties of Milk Thistle could also be useful when it comes to reducing the risk of diabetic complications such as kidney disease (23). However, the review mentioned above noted that the quality of the studies was not very high, which is why further studies are needed before meaningful recommendations can be made (24).

Requirements in sports

Athletes and bodybuilders can benefit from the use of Milk Thistle. They usually consume many supplements at once in order to improve their performance. The use of several supplements at once can produce synergism, which puts enormous pressure on the liver. After a cycle with various substances such as steroids, prohormones, or thermogenics, athletes can regenerate their liver with the use of Milk Thistle and thereby promote liver health as well as their performance.

Is Milk Thistle safe and harmless?

Milk Thistle is generally considered safe and harmless when taken orally (24, 25). Even in studies in which very high doses were taken over a long period of time, only about 1% of subjects experienced any side effects. When side effects were reported, they were generally side effects related to the digestive tract, such as diarrhea, nausea, or bloating.

Some people should be cautious when using Milk Thistle. These include

Pregnant women: There are no data regarding the safety of Milk Thistle in pregnant women, which is why they are usually advised to avoid this supplement.
People who are allergic to Milk Thistle: Milk Thistle can cause reactions in people who react to the Asteraceae/Compositae plant family.
Diabetics: The blood sugar-lowering effects of Milk Thistle can increase the risk of blood sugar levels dropping too low in people taking diabetes medications.
People suffering from certain diseases: Milk Thistle can exert estrogen-like effects, which could worsen hormone-sensitive conditions, including some types of breast cancer.

Conclusion

Milk Thistle is a safe supplement that shows potential as a complementary therapy for various diseases, including diseases of the liver, cancer, and diabetes.

However, many of the studies conducted with Milk Thistle had only a small number of subjects and showed methodological flaws, which makes it difficult to give precise guidelines for the use of this supplement or to confirm its effects (26).

All in all, further high-quality investigations are needed to determine the dosages and clinical effects of this fascinating medicinal plant.

References

The following side effects can occur in cases of overdose

Nausea, stomach pain, vomiting, and headaches. To avoid these complications, it is recommended to follow the instructions of the respective product.

Further studies

J Chromatogr B Analyt Technol Biomed Life Sci. 2003 Sep 5;794(2):303-10. Application of liquid chromatography-electrospray ionization-ion trap mass spectrometry to investigate the metabolism of silibinin in human liver microsomes. Gunaratna C, Zhang T.
Phytother Res. 2004 Feb;18(2):107-10. Chemoprotective effect of plant phenolics against anthracycline-induced toxicity on rat cardiomyocytes. Part I. Silymarin and its flavonolignans. Chlopcikova S, Psotova J, Miketova P, Simanek V.
J Steroid Biochem Mol Biol. 2003 Aug;86(2):179-88. Silymarin is a selective estrogen receptor beta (ERbeta) agonist and has estrogenic effects in the metaphysis of the femur but no or antiestrogenic effects in the uterus of ovariectomized (ovx) rats. Seidlova-Wuttke D, Becker T, Christoffel V, Jarry H, Wuttke W.
J Appl Toxicol. 2004 Jan-Feb;24(1):21-6. Protective effect of alpha-lipoic acid against chloroquine-induced hepatotoxicity in rats. Pari L, Murugavel P.
Toxicol Lett. 2003 Feb 3;137(3):201-12. Primary cultures of human hepatocytes as a tool in cytotoxicity studies: cell protection against model toxins by flavonolignans obtained from Silybum marianum. Dvorak Z, Kosina P, Walterova D, Simanek V, Bachleda P, Ulrichova J.
J Hepatol. 2003 Sep;39(3):333-40. Silibinin protects mice from T cell-dependent liver injury. Schumann J, Prockl J, Kiemer AK, Vollmar AM, Bang R, Tiegs G.
Planta Med. 2003 Jan;69(1):44-9. Physiological responses of a natural antioxidant flavonoid mixture, silymarin, in BALB/c mice: III. Silymarin inhibits T-lymphocyte function at low doses but stimulates inflammatory processes at high doses. Johnson VJ, He Q, Osuchowski MF, Sharma RP.
Am J Med. 2002 Oct 15;113(6):506-15. Milk thistle for the treatment of liver disease: a systematic review and meta-analysis. Jacobs BP, Dennehy C, Ramirez G, Sapp J, Lawrence VA.
Toxicology. 2003 Sep 30;191(2-3):179-87. Antioxidants protect primary rat hepatocyte cultures against acetaminophen-induced DNA strand breaks but not against acetaminophen-induced cytotoxicity. Lewerenz V, Hanelt S, Nastevska C, El-Bahay C, Rohrdanz E, Kahl R.
J Pharm Belg. 2003;58(1):28-31. [St. Mary's Thistle: an overview] [Article in French] Laekeman G, De Coster S, De Meyer K.
J Med Food. 2002 Winter;5(4):197-204. Influence of Piper betle on hepatic marker enzymes and tissue antioxidant status in ethanol-treated Wistar rats. Saravanan R, Prakasam A, Ramesh B, Pugalendi KV.
Methods Find Exp Clin Pharmacol. 2002 Oct;24(8):497-500. Pyrogallol-induced hepatotoxicity in rats: a model to evaluate antioxidant hepatoprotective agents. Gupta YK, Sharma M, Chaudhary G.
Hepatol Res. 2003 Jul;26(3):217-224. Protection against post-ischemic mitochondrial injury in rat liver by silymarin or TUDC. Rolo AP, Oliveira PJ, Moreno AJ, Palmeira CM.
J Clin Gastroenterol. 2003 Oct;37(4):336-9. Silymarin retards the progression of alcohol-induced hepatic fibrosis in baboons. Lieber CS, Leo MA, Cao Q, Ren C, DeCarli LM.
Dtsch Med Wochenschr. 2004 Jan 23;129(4):137-40. [The development of a toxic megacolon due to Amanita phalloides poisoning. A rare complication] [Article in German] Eyer F, Felgenhauer N, Zilker T.
Mol Cancer Ther. 2002 May;1(7):525-32. Inhibition of retinoblastoma protein (Rb) phosphorylation at serine sites and an increase in Rb-E2F complex formation by silibinin in androgen-dependent human prostate carcinoma LNCaP cells: role in prostate cancer prevention. Tyagi A, Agarwal C, Agarwal R.
Drugs. 2001;61(14):2035-63. The use of silymarin in the treatment of liver diseases. Saller R, Meier R, Brignoli R.
BioDrugs. 2001;15(7):465-89. Silymarin: a review of its clinical properties in the management of hepatic disorders. Wellington K, Jarvis B.
Am J Gastroenterol. 2003 Mar;98(3):538-44. Medicinal herbs for hepatitis C virus infection: a Cochrane hepatobiliary systematic review of randomized trials. Liu J, Manheimer E, Tsutani K, Gluud C.
Curr Cancer Drug Targets. 2004 Feb;4(1):1-11. Prostate cancer prevention by silibinin. Singh RP, Agarwal R.
Biochem Biophys Res Commun. 2003 Dec 26;312(4):1178-84. Silibinin down-regulates survivin protein and mRNA expression and causes caspases activation and apoptosis in human bladder transitional-cell papilloma RT4 cells. Tyagi AK, Agarwal C, Singh RP, Shroyer KR, Glode LM, Agarwal R.
Oncogene. 2003 Nov 13;22(51):8271-82. Silibinin upregulates the expression of cyclin-dependent kinase inhibitors and causes cell cycle arrest and apoptosis in human colon carcinoma HT-29 cells. Agarwal C, Singh RP, Dhanalakshmi S, Tyagi AK, Tecklenburg M, Sclafani RA, Agarwal R.
Carcinogenesis. 2004 Mar 19 [Epub ahead of print]. Silibinin prevents ultraviolet radiation-caused skin damages in SKH-1 hairless mice via a decrease in thymine dimer positive cells and an up-regulation of p53-p21/Cip1 in epidermis. Dhanalakshmi S, Mallikarjuna GU, Singh RP, Agarwal R.
Carcinogenesis. 2002 May;23(5):787-94. Dietary silymarin suppresses 4-nitroquinoline 1-oxide-induced tongue carcinogenesis in male F344 rats. Yanaida Y, Kohno H, Yoshida K, Hirose Y, Yamada Y, Mori H, Tanaka T.
Oncol Rep. 2004 Feb;11(2):493-9. Synergistic anti-cancer effects of silibinin with conventional cytotoxic agents doxorubicin, cisplatin and carboplatin against human breast carcinoma MCF-7 and MDA-MB468 cells. Tyagi AK, Agarwal C, Chan DC, Agarwal R.
Cancer Biol Ther. 2003 Sep-Oct;2(5):526-31. Epidermal growth factor receptor mediates silibinin-induced cytotoxicity in a rat glioma cell line. Qi L, Singh RP, Lu Y, Agarwal R, Harrison GS, Franzusoff A, Glode LM.
Anticancer Res. 2003 May-Jun;23(3B):2649-55. Silibinin induces growth inhibition and apoptotic cell death in human lung carcinoma cells. Sharma G, Singh RP, Chan DC, Agarwal R.
Phytother Res. 2003 May;17(5):524-30. Plasma lipoproteins in transport of silibinin, an antioxidant flavonolignan from Silybum marianum. Svagera Z, Skottova N, Vana P, Vecera R, Urbanek K, Belejova M, Kosina P, Simanek V.
Biochem Pharmacol. 2004 Jan 1;67(1):175-81. Protection against lipopolysaccharide-induced sepsis and inhibition of interleukin-1beta and prostaglandin E2 synthesis by silymarin. Kang JS, Jeon YJ, Park SK, Yang KH, Kim HM.
Phytother Res. 2002 Mar;16 Suppl 1:S63-7. Influence of silymarin and its flavonolignans on doxorubicin-iron induced lipid peroxidation in rat heart microsomes and mitochondria in comparison with quercetin. Psotova J, Chlopcikova S, Grambal F, Simanek V, Ulrichova J.
Toxicol In Vitro. 2003 Aug;17(4):385-95. Cytotoxicity of inorganic mercury in murine T and B lymphoma cell lines: involvement of reactive oxygen species, Ca(2+) homeostasis, and cytokine gene expression. Kim SH, Sharma RP.
Phytomedicine. 2000 Mar;7(1):21-4. Anti-inflammatory and anti-arthritic activities of silymarin acting through inhibition of 5-lipoxygenase. Gupta OP, Sing S, Bani S, Sharma N, Malhotra S, Gupta BD, Banerjee SK, Handa SS.
Phytother Res. 2002 Nov;16(7):632-8. Effect of silybin and its congeners on human liver microsomal cytochrome P450 activities. Zuber R, Modriansky M, Dvorak Z, Rohovsky P, Ulrichova J, Simanek V, Anzenbacher P.
FEBS Lett. 2003 Aug 28;550(1-3):89-93. Silymarin inhibits TNF-alpha-induced expression of adhesion molecules in human umbilical vein endothelial cells. Kang JS, Park SK, Yang KH, Kim HM