Milk thistle extract herb for liver health

Milk thistle is commonly found growing wild in a variety of settings, including roadsides. The seeds of the dried flower are used. Milk thistle's active ingredient is a flavonoid called silymarin, an antioxidant said to protect liver cells from toxins. Sylimarin apparently promotes liver cell protein synthesis and decreases the oxidation of glutathione.
     Milk thistle or silymarin may potentially be beneficial in a number of diseases involving the liver. The dose of silymarin used in studies has ranged from 200 to 800 mg per day.

Milk Thistle herb extract  80% Silymarin, 60 Capsules -Club Natural

Milk Thistle herb extract is standardized to 80% silymarin, the key constituent that exerts a protective effect against substances potentially harmful to the liver.


Milk Thistle Herb Supplement Facts:
Milk thistle extract -  200 mg         
   (seed) standardized to 80% Silymarin

Recommendation: Take 1 milk thistle capsule daily or as recommended by your health care provider.

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Milk thistle benefit
Milk thistle extracts have been used as traditional herbal remedies for 2000 years. Milk thistle extracts are still widely used to protect the liver against toxins and to control chronic liver diseases. Research shows milk thistle extracts may have benefit for cancer and diabetes treatment.

Milk thistle and liver disease
Q. Is there scientific evidence that milk thistle protects the liver?
   A. As of February 2009, we believe more research is needed in order to know the full benefits of milk thistle extract as a treatment for liver disease.

Milk Thistle herb for hepatitis
As of 2007, there is no consensus in the scientific community regarding the benefit of milk thistle herb for hepatitis treatment.

Milk thistle for alcoholic and/or hepatitis B or C virus liver diseases.
Cochrane Database Syst Rev. 2007 October. Rambaldi A, Jacobs BP, Gluud C. Copenhagen Trial Unit, Centre for Clinical Intervention Research, Cochrane Hepato-Biliary Group, Rigshospitalet, Dept. 3344, Blegdamsvej 9, Copenhagen, Denmark.
Clinical trials have assessed whether extracts of milk thistle have any effect in patients with alcoholic and/or hepatitis B or C virus liver diseases. To assess the beneficial and harmful effects of milk thistle or milk thistle constituents versus placebo or no intervention in patients with alcoholic liver disease and/or viral liver diseases (hepatitis B and hepatitis C). Our results question the beneficial effects of milk thistle for patients with alcoholic and/or hepatitis B or C virus liver diseases and highlight the lack of high-quality evidence to support this intervention.

Does Silybum marianum milk thistle play a role in the treatment of chronic hepatitis C?
P R Health Sci J. 2004 Jun;23(2 Suppl):69-74. Torres M, Rodriguez-Serrano F, et al. Veterans Affairs Medical Center, Department of Medicine, Gastroenterology Section, San Juan, Puerto Rico.
Milk thistle is a natural herb known to mankind for over 2,000 years that has been used as a liver-protecting agent due to its antioxidant properties. The objective of this study is to evaluate the safety profile and the effects of this milk thistle herb, using a commercially available extract; in the liver chemistry and viral load of hepatitis C in chronically infected patients. Patients aged 21-65 years old with a diagnosis of chronic hepatitis C who were not using antiviral therapy were asked to participate. Patients were randomized to treatment with milk thistle 160 mg orally three times a week for four weeks or to no-treatment (control). Conclusion: Milk thistle is a well-tolerated plant extract associated with a decrease in liver chemistries but with no apparent effect on viral load when given for 4 weeks. These results suggest that milk thistle may have a protective effect in the inflammatory response to hepatitis C virus infection, but no role as an antiviral agent. Further investigations may consider using this milk thistle plant extract for a longer period of time or as adjuvant to the standard therapy of chronic hepatitis C.

Randomized controlled trial of silymarin treatment in patients with cirrhosis of the liver. Ferenci P. niversity of Vienna, Austria. Hepatol. 1989 Jul;9(1):105-13.

Milt Thistle herb questions
Q. I take beta glucan along with my multivitamin mineral supplement, and understand that when you add milk thistle to the glucan it's a tremendous help to the liver. However, years ago when I lived in New England I displayed signs of allergy to ragweed, and the milk thistle cautions about its use if you are allergic to ragweed. My question is, since my allergic response was red, watery eyes and a stuffy nose, and nothing more serious, would you say it's ok to take the milk thistle? The milk thistle gelcap is 1000 mg.
   A. This is a question for your doctor to decide. There may be a cross reactivity between ragweed and milk thistle, but then again most people with ragweed allergy may be able to take milk thistle without problems. However you doctor is the one that makes the final decision.

Q. Can milk thistle be taken in addition to a multivitamin on a daily basis?
  A. Milk thistle appears to be safe as a supplement, but it would be a good idea to take a week off each month, just as many herbal supplement.

Q. How does one know the right dosage of milk thistle supplement?
  A. Since hardly any long term studies in humans have been done with milk thistle herb, it is difficult to know the right milk thistle dosage. For the time being, one capsule a day a few times a week seems to be a good option.

Q. How should milk thistle supplement be taken, with an empty stomach, with food?
  A. A milk thistle supplement can be taken with or without food, a good time to take it is with breakfast and or lunch.

Q. Can milk thistle be taken the same day as other supplements?
   A. We have not come across any research that indicates milk thistle cannot be taken with other supplements. Therefore it appears a milk thistle supplement should be fine to use with other herbs and nutrients.

Q. Can milk thistle be used by a dog or a cat?
   A. We have not seen any reports where milk thistle caused adverse effects when give to a dog or a cat. The dosage would be a third or so of the dosage in a human.

Q. Regarding milk thistle where can I find benefits and warnings about this liver herb? I read somewhere that milk thistle should be bound to phosphatidyl choline. Have you heard of that?
   A. We have not seen any human research comparing milk thistle herb extracts (such as silibinin and silybin) bound to phosphatidylcholine compared to milk thistle extracts not bound to phosphatidyl choline. There have been reports that these milk thistle extracts, when bound to phosphatidylcholine, are better absorbed. However, it is possible that taking these milk thistle extracts with a little bit of food that has fat could enhance absorption just as well. Plus, it is possible that enhanced and faster absorption could lead to more side effects. The bottom line is that milk thistle extracts bound to p[hophatidylcholine are better absorbed but, as of May 2008, we have not seen definitive clinical studiesto determine whether this form of milk thistle extract supplement offers improved clinical outcomes.

Q. Why do you promote Milk Thistle to protect the liver, if no scientific evidence exists to support this claim?
   A. Different doctors and different scientists have different opinions on the effectiveness of different natural supplements. Wikipedia information is written by a number of different people and the information on Wikipedia is not necessarily always correct or up to date.