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Chemistry and Pharmacology Of Milk Thistle

A rather complete chemical composition list of milk thistle can be found in Dr. Duke's Phytochemical and Ethnobotanical Databases. Milk thisle seeds contain 1.5-3% flavonolignans, collectively called silymarin; 20-30% fixed oils, of which approximately 60% is linoleic acid, approximately 30% is oleic acid, and approximately 9% is palmitic acid; 25-30% protein; 0.038% tocopherol; 0.63% sterols, including choleterol, campeterol, stigmasterol, and sitosterol; and some mucilage. [Herbal Medicine - Expanded Commission E monographs, by Mark Blumenthal, Alicia Goldberg, and Josef Brinckmann, first edition, 2000]. Silymarin's constituents are isosilybinin, silybinin, silychristin, and silydianin, of which silybinin accounts for approximately 50% of silymarin. [Dr. Duke's Essential Herbs, by James A Duke, 1999].

There have been very few clinical tests on milk thistle or any herb for women at pregnancy. Thus, although an extremely safe herb and food, milk thistle is recommended against women who are pregnant or lactating largely due to the lack of data and our ignorance.

Milk Thistle Protects Liver Function

As a mild food and herb, milk thistle's anecdotes and folklores may not be as fancy and splendid as those of ginseng or ginkgo. Unlike the latter two herbs, milk tistle is strictly non-Asian, and has been used in the regions surrounding the Mediterranean . Medicinal efficacies of milk thistle fruits and seeds for protecting the liver and helping with various ailments associated with liver function have been known and exploited for more than two thousand years, even before the preparation methods for standardized extracts were available.

How does Silymarin Work

How is Silymarin Used