Milk Thistle – Silybum marianum

Alzheimer’s disease

Anti-oxidant

Anti-inflammatory

Cancer

Cardiovascular

  • Protection or organs from ischemia reperfusion injury. In other words, when a tissue or organ has been denied blood supply for a period of time (i.e. “heart attack”) injury can and often does occur when the blood supply is returned to that organ or tissue. Milk Thistle demonstrates the ability to protect cells against this. Fitoterapia vol. 97, Sept 2014, 122-132

Cholesterol

Diabetes

  • Silymarin induced insulin resistance in a rat model. PLOS One. Jan 03, 2014. It is important to note that Silymarin is only one phytochemical from Milk Thistle and that the whole plant may not perform in the same way as only one of its phytochemicals.
  • Glycaemic Control – Milk Thistle has demonstrated improved glycemic control for people with non insulin dependant (type II) diabetes. Phytother Res. 2006 Dec;20(12):1036-9
    J Ethnopharmacol. 2004 Apr;91(2-3):309-16.
  • Protect Pancreas – has demonstrated an ability to protect the pancreas, making it possibly useful in the treatment of type II diabetes.  Cell Mol Life Sci. 1997 Dec;53(11-12):917-20

Drug Interactions

Hearing Loss

Infection-Induced Preterm Birth

  • In a mouse model Silibinin was protective  against brain injury and infection in pre-term birth. PLOS One. Mar 19, 2014

Influenza Virus

Liver

Metabolism

  • Hormone Metabolism – according to this study involving healthy premenopausal women, there may be a benefit in hormone imbalances. This study demonstrated a decrease in early-follicular phase androgens without any significant change in estrogen. Cancer Epidemiol Biomarkers Prev. 2007 Aug;16(8):1601-9

Protection from Radiation

Protection from Toxins