Milk Thistle

The Benefits of Milk Thistle - Silybum Marianum

Other Common Names: Blessed Milk-thistle, Cardo Mariano,
Holy Thistle, Kanger, Kenger, Ku'Ub, Lady's Thistle, Maria-Azami,
Meryemanadikeni, St Mary's Milk Thistle, Thistle,
Variegated Thistle, Silybum marianum

Range: S. Europe, N. Africa and W. Asia.
Habitat: Waste places, usually close to the sea,
especially if the ground is dry and rocky.


The Marian, or Milk Thistle, is perhaps the most important medicinally
among the members of this genus, to which all botanists do not, however,
assign it, naming it Silybum Marianum.

Westmacott, writing in 1694, says of this Thistle:
'It is a Friend to the Liver and Blood: the prickles cut off,
they were formerly used to be boiled
in the Spring and eaten with other herbs;
but as the World decays, so doth the Use of good
old things and others more delicate and less virtuous brought in.'

There is a tradition that the milk-white veins of the leaves originated
in the milk of the Virgin which once fell upon a plant of Thistle,
hence it was called Our Lady's Thistle, and the Latin name
of the species has the same derivation.

Milk thistle has a long history of use in the West as a remedy
for depression and liver problems.
Recent research has confirmed that it has a remarkable ability
to protect the liver from damage resulting
from alcoholic and other types of poisoning.
The whole plant is astringent, bitter, cholagogue, diaphoretic,
diuretic, emetic, emmenagogue, hepatic, stimulant, stomachic and tonic.
It is used internally in the treatment of liver and gall bladder diseases,
jaundice, cirrhosis, hepatitis and poisoning.
The plant is harvested when in flower and dried for later use.

Silymarin, an extract from the seed, acts on the membranes
of the liver cells preventing the entry of virus toxins and other toxic
compounds and thus preventing damage to the cells.
It also dramatically improves liver regeneration in hepatitis,
cirrhosis, mushroom poisoning and other diseases of the liver.
German research suggests that silybin
(a flavonoid component of the seed)
is clinically useful in the treatment
of severe poisoning by Amanita mushrooms.
Seed extracts are produced commercially in Europe.
Regeneration of the liver is particularly important in the treatment
of cancer since this disease is alwayscharacterized
by a severely compromised and often partially destroyed liver.

The therapeutic effect of silymarin in all of these disorders
has been confirmed by histological (biopsy),
clinical and laboratory data.
Silymarin is especially effective in the treatment and prevention
of toxic chemical or alcohol induced liver damage.

The protective effect of silymarin against
liver damage has been demonstrated in a number
of experimental and clinical studies.

A homeopathic remedy is obtained from equal parts
of the root and the seed with its hulls still attached.
It is used in the treatment of liver and abdominal disorders.

The heads of this Thistle formerly were eaten, boiled,
treated like those of the Artichoke.

Known Hazards: When grown on nitrogen rich soils,
especially those that have been fed with chemical fertilizers
this plant can concentrate nitrates in the leaves.
Nitrates are implicated in stomach cancers.


SOURCE(S)
* Grieve. M. A Modern Herbal. Penguin 1984 ISBN 0-14-046-440-9
* Hikino, H. Kiso, Y., Wagner, H. and Fiegig, M.,
"Antihepatotoxic actions of flavonolignans
from Silybum marianum fruits", Planta Medica, 1984, 50, pp248-50
* Salmi, H.A., and Sarna, S.,
"Effect of silymarin on chemical,
functional, and morphological alteration of the liver.
A double-blind controlled study"
Scand.J.Gastroenterol., 1982, 17, pp 417-21
* Vogel, G., Trost, W., Braatz, R., et al.,
"Studies on pharmacodynamics, site and mechanis
of action of silymarin the antihpatotoxic principle
from Silybum marianum (L.) Gaert".,
Arzneim-Forsch, 1975, 25, pp 179-85


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