Chemical definition: Mixture of a new class of substances, flavonolignans, in which Silybin predominates. Other isomers are named Silidianin and Silicristin.

Assay: Silymarin 70 (DAB 10): Not less than 70% Silymarin of which Silybin content not less than 31% (HPLC)

Product Origins: Silymarin is the extract of the milk thistle plant found in dry rocky soils of Southern and Western Europe and in some parts of the USA. The extract is composed of three flavonoid molecules which are thought to have positive effects in the treatment of various forms of liver diseases.

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Extracts of milk thistle have been used as medical remedies since the time of ancient Greece when Dioscorides, a Greek herbalist, wrote that a tea of milk thistle seeds could cure the bite of a poisonous snake. Pliney The Elder (AD 23-79) noted that a mixture of the plant juice and honey was excellent for "carrying off bile" whilst in 1596, Gerarde stated that milk thistle was the "best remedy against melancholy" or black bile.

Milk thistle was used for the treatment of liver diseases by Otto Brunfels (1534), Hieronimus Bock (1595), Jacobus Theodorus (1664), and Adanl Lonicerus (1679). Culpepper (1787) reported that it was an excellent remedy for obstructions of the liver and the spleen, and that infusions from fresh root and seeds were curative for jaundice and for breaking and expelling stones. Between 1772 and 1850, Rademacher produced an ethanol extract from the seeds for hepatosplenic disorders and the "Eclectics" school of medical herbalists used the extracts of the milk thistle plant for "liver congestion," varicose veins, menstrual disorders, and abnormalities of the spleen and kidneys.

Therapeutic Applications: Silymarin is held to exhibit anti-hepatotoxic activity by acting to protect the epatic parenchyma against the toxic effects of carbon tetrachloride and galactosamine. Reported uses in the treatment of liver complaints including cirrhosis, hepatitis and alcohol or chemical induced fatty liver.

May be more effective in the treatment of liver complaints than vitamin E. Silymarin is believed to work by increasing gluathione (GSH) in the liver. Is also thought to improve liver function in general and has reported uses in the reduction of digestive discomfort in cases of over indulgence.

Therapeutical Categories: Hepatoprotectant, Antioxidant

Synonyms: Milk Thistle extract, Lady's Thistle, Silybum marianum purified extract.