One of the most popular herbal remedies for liver diseases and problems is milk thistle. You can take milk thistle for a wide variety of conditions, but the herb's effects on your liver may be the most profound. As with any herbal remedy, you should talk to your doctor before taking milk thistle to discuss any potential side effects, health risks or drug interactions.
History
Milk thistle is a weed-like plant that's used medicinally for its seeds or fruits. Also called wild artichoke, Mary thistle or holy thistle, it is native to Europe and is often found growing along the roadside. In the early 1900s, people grew milk thistle in the United Kingdom to use its leaves like lettuce in cuisine, as well as to roast and brew the seeds to make a coffee-like drink, according to the University of Pittsburgh Medical Center. For the past 2,000 years, people have also used milk thistle seeds and leaves in medicinal preparations to treat jaundice, as well as other problems relating to the liver and spleen, notes the University of Michigan Health System.
Benefits
Today, extracts from milk thistle fruits are used to treat several different medical conditions. You can take milk thistle extract to treat cirrhosis of the liver and other alcohol-related liver diseases, alcoholic and viral hepatitis--even gallstones, says the University of Michigan Health System. Milk thistle may help to protect your liver from drug-related toxicity, food poisoning and cancer, notes the Memorial Sloan-Kettering Cancer Center. The herbal remedy might also help to treat minor hepatic insufficiency, or "sluggish liver," and liver damage due to ingesting the poisonous death cap mushroom, adds the University of Pittsburgh Medical Center.
Function
Milk thistle fruits contain the constituent silymarin, a flavonoid compound that acts as a strong antioxidant in your body, explains the University of Michigan Health System. Silymarin prevents harmful toxins from entering liver cells and removes the toxins that are already damaging the cells. More specifically, milk thistle essentially stabilizes the cell membranes in your liver, so that toxins cannot enter the cells, says the Memorial Sloan-Kettering Cancer Center. Also, milk thistle's constituents boost your liver's ability to regenerate health cells to replace damaged ones. Milk thistle may also fight cancer cells in the liver.
Scientific Evidence
Numerous test-tube, animal and human studies have revealed milk thistle's beneficial effects on the liver. If you're recovering from alcoholism, you can take milk thistle to treat liver damage related to alcohol. A 1982 double-blind clinical trial found that taking milk thistle after alcohol abuse can help the liver to recover and become healthy again, says the University of Michigan Health System. Another double-blind study published in 1994 found similar results relating to alcohol-induced liver disease.
In addition to alcohol, a 1998 preliminary study found that milk thistle may protect the liver from toxicity from taking acetaminophen, Dilantin and phenothiazines, says the University of Pittsburgh Medical Center. Another study conducted in 1994 also found protective effects on people who took psychotropic drug treatments for long periods of time. A 2008 systematic review of clinical evidence on silymarin extracted from milk thistle found that the herb can effectively treat liver cirrhosis, says the Memorial Sloan-Kettering Cancer Center.
Warnings
Although milk thistle has shown impressive medicinal effects on the liver in many clinical trials, the herb is not without its risks, side effects and dangers, although they are few. You may experience mild side effects like diarrhea, nausea or stomach pain after taking milk thistle, says the Memorial Sloan-Kettering Cancer Center. Milk thistle may also stimulate menstruation.
The only potential known negative interaction with medications relates to certain contraceptives. One report from 1994 claims that silymarin may inhibit beta-glucuronidase, a bacterial enzyme that helps in the actions of oral contraceptives, says the University of Pittsburgh Medical Center. Due to milk thistle's effects on this enzyme, the herb could potentially decrease the effectiveness of oral contraceptives.
