Milk thistle is a plant whose seeds, fruit, juice and stem have been used medicinally since the time of the ancient Greeks. Modern scientific research indicates that milk thistle contains a compound that may be capable of halting the growth of cancer cells, including prostate cancer. However, these studies were performed in the laboratory and have not been confirmed in clinical trials involving prostate cancer patients. Consult your doctor about the possible side effects and dangers before using milk thistle supplementation for any condition.
Milk thistle
Milk thistle is a native Mediterranean plant that is also known by the names blessed thistle, Lady's milk, holy thistle and bull thistle. Milk thistle tinctures and solutions have traditionally been used to promote liver health and to treat jaundice, menstrual irregularity, gallstones, bronchitis and varicose veins. While there is little scientific evidence to back up these purported uses, the University of Maryland Medical Center reports that a compound found in milk thistle seeds, silymarin, may improve liver function and decrease the effects of cirrhosis and hepatitis. Milk thistle supplements contain between 70 to 80 percent silymarin and it is this compound that may also have an effect on prostate cancer cells.
Effect on the Prostate
In 2002, a study published in the journal "Prostate" reported rat prostate cancer cells that were treated with both silymarin and silibinin, one of the chemical components of silymarin, either died or experienced significant slowing in their rate of growth. The researchers concluded that silymarin and silibinin were capable of disrupting DNA synthesis in the prostate cells. Another study published in 2005 in "Cancer Research" confirmed these findings on cancerous human prostate cells, leading the scientists to conclude that flavonoid compounds extracted from milk thistle may prove to be an effective prevention and treatment measure for prostate cancer. However, health professionals caution that these studies were conducted in the laboratory and the results have not yet been duplicated in clinical trials.
Possible Side Effects
Supplementing with silymarin-rich milk thistle may cause side effects like bloating, decreased appetite, nausea, gas, diarrhea, indigestion, rashes, headaches and decreased sexual performance. Health professionals warn that milk thistle should not be taken by children, pregnant or nursing women and individuals with a history of prostate, uterine or breast cancer until more research on the possible dangers has been conducted. Milk thistle use may interfere with the proper function of medications like phenytoin, antipsychotics like chlorpromazine, halothane, high cholesterol drugs like lovastatin, blood thinners such as warfarin, anti-anxiety drugs like diazepam and allergy drugs such as fexofenadine.
Considerations
Milk thistle supplementation is not approved for the treatment or prevention of any condition, including any prostate problem, and is not regulated by the Food and Drug Administration. This means that commercial milk thistle tinctures, liquid extracts and capsules are not checked to confirm they contain the amount of silymarin advertised or that they are not contaminated with other substances or metals. Do not begin using milk thistle to treat or prevent any medical problem without first consulting your doctor.
References
- Drugs.com: Milk Thistle
- University of Maryland Medical Center: Milk Thistle
- "Cancer Research"; Milk Thistle and Prostate Cancer: Differential Effects of Pure Flavonolignans from Silybum marianum on Antiproliferative End Points in Human Prostate Carcinoma Cells; Paula R. Davis-Searles, et al.; May 2005
- Memorial Sloan-Kettering Cancer Center: Milk Thistle
- "Prostate"; Antiproliferative and Apoptotic Effects of Silibinin in Rat Prostate Cancer Cells
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