Milk thistle, or Silybum marianum, has been used medicinally for thousands of years. Claims of effectiveness include improving liver function, particularly in regards to alcoholic liver disease, reducing the damage of liver cirrhosis, chronic hepatitis, or liver inflammation, and gallbladder disorders. Treatment claims have also included reducing cholesterol levels, improving insulin function in people with cirrhosis and type 2 diabetes and reducing the growth of breast, cervical and prostate cancers. While support is limited in research, sales in the United States topped $95 million dollars in 2008, according to a January 11, 2010 New York Times article.
Significance of the Milk Thistle Plant versus the Seed
The milk thistle plant is a flowering plant that is in the daisy family. This flower or fast growing weed has reddish-purple flowers and a spotted seed. It originates in the Mediterranean areas, but has been repatriated to various arid and sunny areas worldwide. Milk thistle grows between 4 to 10-ft. and has wide leaves and spiny stems. Crushed leaves release a milky fluid. The seeds of the milk thistle plant, however, are considered the most biologically active component, as they contain silymarin, according to the University of Maryland Medical Center, or UMMC. Supplements are derived from the seed, not the flowering plant itself.
Silymarin Features
Silymarin, extracted from the seed, is used to prepare capsules, extracts, and infusions, or strong teas. According to Memorial Sloan-Kettering Cancer Center, it appears that silymarin may stabilize liver cell membranes by changing the structure of the outer cell membrane to protect it against liver toxins.
Benefits
A clinical trial published in 1989 in the Hungarian journal "Orv Hetil" studied 170 patients with cirrhosis of the liver to determine the effect of silymarin on survival. For two years, 87 patients randomly received 140 mg of silymarin three times a day, while 83 patients received a placebo. Overall, patients taking silymarin had a higher four-year survival rate than those taking the placebo. Deeper analysis showed that silymarin appeared to be more effective in patients with alcohol-induced cirrhosis. Another small 2009 study published in "Cancer" by Columbia University researchers found that milk thistle reduced liver toxicity in children with leukemia undergoing chemotherapy. In Europe, silybin is used for treatment of toxicity from poisonous mushrooms, according to UMMC.
Warnings
Allergic reactions remain an issue. People who have allergies to plants in the aster family, including ragweed, chrysanthemum, marigold, daisies, artichokes and kiwi, are at risk for having an allergic reaction to milk thistle. According to MayoClinic.com, there have been reports of anaphylactic shock when taking milk thistle products. A.S.P.E.N notes that milk thistle may lower blood sugar levels, but there is also concern that it may induce some hormone sensitive cancers.
Expert Insight
Experts at Memorial Sloan-Kettering Cancer Center are hopeful that milk thistle may be protective against alcohol-induced liver damage, and even reverse its effects in some cases. They also report that there is not enough evidence to say whether it can treat any other type of liver disease, cancer or other diseases in humans because the research has been spotty and poorly designed, and studies have been small. Therefore, it is clear that further research in humans remains necessary.
References
- "Orv Hetil"; Liver-protective action of silymarin therapy in chronic alcoholic liver diseases; Feher J, et al.; 1989
- "Cancer"; A randomized, controlled, double-blind, pilot study of milk thistle for the treatment of hepatotoxicity in childhood acute lymphoblastic leukemia (ALL); Ladas EJ, et.al.; 2010
- "New York Times"; Anahad O'Connor; 2010
- "The A.S.P.E.N Nutrition Support Core Curriculum"; Michelle Gottschlich, PH.D.; 2007.
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