Milk Thistle

- Thistle under the chrysanthemum family with violet flower 

What is milk thistle?

Milk thistle of which flower is violet color, has been taken for the purpose of liver health 2000 years ago. Traditionally, medicine scholars have used milk thistle seeds to protect liver from chronic epilepsy, because it contains functional component called Silymarin. 

Silymarin is composed of four isomers: Silybin(A, B), Silychristin, Silydianin and Isosilybin(A, B). There have been many studies on Silymarin up to date, since this component has the antioxidant effect of protecting liver cells from active oxygen. Silymarin inhibits liver toxicity by increasing the amount of glutathione in liver, and generates liver function by promoting bioactive RNA enzyme.

It also reduces the main indicator called bilirubinemia (r-GT and jaundice, the cause of yellow skin or eyes) that is used to determine alcoholic liver disease. 
In addition, it was found that the intake of milk thistle extract of people with weakened liver function and damaged liver has resulted in improved GOT(AST) and GPT(ALT), the important indicators of liver function.

Source : Ministry of Food and Drug Safety_ effect of health functional food

Effect of milk thistle

1. Effect of detoxification process
Silymarin prevents toxin from being stuck to or coming into cell walls of liver. In addition, liver produces the antioxidant called glutathione (peroxide remover) to process detoxification and protect liver cells from being damaged. It is known that such antioxidant effect is 10 times stronger than vitamin E. As higher the glutathione level is, it discharges toxins such as heavy meal, pesticide, smoke and cigarette outside the body. As the detoxification process in liver makes blood clean, it also shows good effect for chronic skin disease, pimples, eczema and psoriasis.

2. Mitigating and preventing liver disease
In a large-scale study in Germany in 1992, the intake of daily fixed dose of milk thistle for 8 weeks in 2,600 patients with fat liver, hepatitis type B, C and cirrhosis indicated that 63% of them reported of disappearance of nausea, fatigue, anorexia and stomachache. In addition, for cancer patients, it rapidly removes the poison that can be accumulated in the body after healing anticancer drug, helping the process of cancer by inhibiting inflammatory liver and promoting recovery.

3. Degeneration of kidney cells
Silymarin prevents kidney from being damaged by acetaminophen, the toxin of a fever reducer/ pain reliever of Tylenol, and regenerates kidney cells.

4. Generation of liver cells
Silymarin inhibits the production inflammatory substance called leukotriene, to relive artery hardening and to relieve liver fibrosis, and generates liver cells by promoting the production of nucleic acid, RNA. 

Studies on milk thistle

1. Effects of silybum marianum on patients with chronic hepatitis C. (Kalantari H1, Shahshahan Z, Hejazi SM, Ghafghazi T, Sebghatolahi V. J Res Med Sci. 2011 Mar;16(3):287-90) 

: In the results of intake of Silymarin by patients with chronic hepatitis, the concentration of serum HCV-RNA and that of ALT and AST has been improved.

2. Antiosteoclastic activity of milk thistle extract after ovariectomy to suppress estrogen deficiency-induced osteoporosis. (Kim JL1, Kim YH, Kang MK. Biomed Res Int. 2013;2013:919374. doi: 10.1155/2013/919374. Epub 2013 May 28.)

: Sillibinin contained milk thistle extract has the effect of estrogen deficiency-induced osteoporosis. 

3. Silybum marianum (milk thistle) in the management and prevention of hepatotoxicity in a patient undergoing reinduction therapy for acute myelogenous leukemia. (McBride A1, Augustin KM. J Oncol Pharm Pract. 2012 Sep;18(3):360-5. doi: 10.1177/1078155212438252. Epub 2012 Feb 29.)

: Milk thistle has the effect of a unique liver protective agent.

4. Hepatoprotection of silymarin against thioacetamide-induced chronic liver fibrosis. (Chen IS1, Chen YC, Chou CH, Chuang RF. (J Sci Food Agric. 2012 May;92(7):1441-7. doi: 10.1002/jsfa.4723. Epub 2011 Nov 18.)

: Silymarin contained in milk thistle has the effect of protecting liver damaged by thioacetamide(TAA).

5. The effects of milk thistle on hepatic fibrosis due to methotrexate in rat. (Ghaffari AR1, Noshad H, Ostadi A. Hepat Mon. 2011 Jun;11(6):464-8.)

: Milk thistle extract inhibits effectively the liver disorder and liver fibrosis caused by methotrexate (carcinostatic agent).