Information On Milk Thistle - Silybum Marianum
Other Common Names: Blessed Milk-thistle, Cardo Mariano, Holy
Thistle, Kanger, Kenger, Ku'Ub, Lady's Thistle, Maria-Azami,
Meryemanadikeni, St Mary's Milk Thistle, Thistle, Variegated Thistle,
Silybum marianum
Range: S. Europe, N. Africa and W. Asia.
Habitat: Waste places, usually close to the sea, especially if the ground is dry and rocky.
The Marian, or Milk Thistle, is perhaps the most important
medicinally among the members of this genus, to which all botanists do
not, however, assign it, naming it Silybum Marianum.
Westmacott, writing in 1694, says of this Thistle: 'It is a
Friend to the Liver and Blood: the prickles cut off, they were formerly
used to be boiled in the Spring and eaten with other herbs; but as the
World decays, so doth the Use of good old things and others more
delicate and less virtuous brought in.'
There is a tradition that the milk-white veins of the leaves
originated in the milk of the Virgin which once fell upon a plant of
Thistle, hence it was called Our Lady's Thistle, and the Latin name of
the species has the same derivation.
Milk thistle has a long history of use in the West as a remedy for
depression and liver problems. Recent research has confirmed that it
has a remarkable ability to protect the liver from damage resulting
from alcoholic and other types of poisoning. The whole plant is
astringent, bitter, cholagogue, diaphoretic, diuretic, emetic,
emmenagogue, hepatic, stimulant, stomachic and tonic. It is used
internally in the treatment of liver and gall bladder diseases,
jaundice, cirrhosis, hepatitis and poisoning. The plant is harvested
when in flower and dried for later use.
Silymarin, an extract from the seed, acts on the membranes of the
liver cells preventing the entry of virus toxins and other toxic
compounds and thus preventing damage to the cells. It also dramatically
improves liver regeneration in hepatitis, cirrhosis, mushroom poisoning
and other diseases of the liver. German research suggests that silybin
(a flavonoid component of the seed) is clinically useful in the
treatment of severe poisoning by Amanita mushrooms. Seed extracts are
produced commercially in Europe. Regeneration of the liver is
particularly important in the treatment of cancer since this disease is
alwayscharacterized by a severely compromised and often partially
destroyed liver.
The therapeutic effect of silymarin in all of these disorders has
been confirmed by histological (biopsy), clinical and laboratory data.
Silymarin is especially effective in the treatment and prevention of
toxic chemical or alcohol induced liver damage.
The protective effect of silymarin against liver damage has been demonstrated in a number of experimental and clinical studies.
A homeopathic remedy is obtained from equal parts of the root and
the seed with its hulls still attached. It is used in the treatment of
liver and abdominal disorders.
The heads of this Thistle formerly were eaten, boiled, treated like those of the Artichoke.
Known Hazards: When grown on nitrogen rich soils, especially
those that have been fed with chemical fertilizers, this plant can
concentrate nitrates in the leaves. Nitrates are implicated in stomach
cancers.
Other Common Names: Blessed Milk-thistle, Cardo Mariano, Holy
Thistle, Kanger, Kenger, Ku'Ub, Lady's Thistle, Maria-Azami,
Meryemanadikeni, St Mary's Milk Thistle, Thistle, Variegated Thistle,
Silybum marianum
Range: S. Europe, N. Africa and W. Asia.
Habitat: Waste places, usually close to the sea, especially if the ground is dry and rocky.
The Marian, or Milk Thistle, is perhaps the most important
medicinally among the members of this genus, to which all botanists do
not, however, assign it, naming it Silybum Marianum.
Westmacott, writing in 1694, says of this Thistle: 'It is a
Friend to the Liver and Blood: the prickles cut off, they were formerly
used to be boiled in the Spring and eaten with other herbs; but as the
World decays, so doth the Use of good old things and others more
delicate and less virtuous brought in.'
There is a tradition that the milk-white veins of the leaves
originated in the milk of the Virgin which once fell upon a plant of
Thistle, hence it was called Our Lady's Thistle, and the Latin name of
the species has the same derivation.
Milk thistle has a long history of use in the West as a remedy for
depression and liver problems. Recent research has confirmed that it
has a remarkable ability to protect the liver from damage resulting
from alcoholic and other types of poisoning. The whole plant is
astringent, bitter, cholagogue, diaphoretic, diuretic, emetic,
emmenagogue, hepatic, stimulant, stomachic and tonic. It is used
internally in the treatment of liver and gall bladder diseases,
jaundice, cirrhosis, hepatitis and poisoning. The plant is harvested
when in flower and dried for later use.
Silymarin, an extract from the seed, acts on the membranes of the
liver cells preventing the entry of virus toxins and other toxic
compounds and thus preventing damage to the cells. It also dramatically
improves liver regeneration in hepatitis, cirrhosis, mushroom poisoning
and other diseases of the liver. German research suggests that silybin
(a flavonoid component of the seed) is clinically useful in the
treatment of severe poisoning by Amanita mushrooms. Seed extracts are
produced commercially in Europe. Regeneration of the liver is
particularly important in the treatment of cancer since this disease is
alwayscharacterized by a severely compromised and often partially
destroyed liver.
The therapeutic effect of silymarin in all of these disorders has
been confirmed by histological (biopsy), clinical and laboratory data.
Silymarin is especially effective in the treatment and prevention of
toxic chemical or alcohol induced liver damage.
The protective effect of silymarin against liver damage has been demonstrated in a number of experimental and clinical studies.
A homeopathic remedy is obtained from equal parts of the root and
the seed with its hulls still attached. It is used in the treatment of
liver and abdominal disorders.
The heads of this Thistle formerly were eaten, boiled, treated like those of the Artichoke.
Known Hazards: When grown on nitrogen rich soils, especially
those that have been fed with chemical fertilizers, this plant can
concentrate nitrates in the leaves. Nitrates are implicated in stomach
cancers.
- Grieve. M. A Modern Herbal. Penguin 1984 ISBN 0-14-046-440-9
- Hikino, H. Kiso, Y., Wagner, H. and Fiegig, M., "Antihepatotoxic
actions of flavonolignans from Silybum marianum fruits", Planta Medica,
1984, 50, pp248-50 - Salmi, H.A., and Sarna, S., "Effect of silymarin on chemical,
functional, and morphological alteration of the liver. A double-blind
controlled study" Scand.J.Gastroenterol., 1982, 17, pp 417-21 - Vogel, G., Trost, W., Braatz, R., et al., "Studies on
pharmacodynamics, site and mechanism of action of silymarin the
antihpatotoxic principle from Silybum marianum (L.) Gaert".,
Arzneim-Forsch, 1975, 25, pp 179-85
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