Asteraceae
Milk Thistle
Silybum marianum
The premier liver-protective herb: its seeds yield silymarin, a flavonolignan complex that shields and regenerates liver cells.
- Also known as
- St. Mary's thistle, Marian thistle
- Parts used
- Seed
- Taste
- Bitter
- Energetics
- Cooling · Neutral
- Sourcing
- Cultivated
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Traditional use
Dioscorides recommended it for serpent bites. Legend holds the white veins in its leaves came from the Virgin Mary's milk.
Rademacher in 19th-century Germany used the seed tincture for liver, spleen and gallbladder complaints.
Research
Antidote in Amanita mushroom poisoning
ClinicalIntravenous silibinin is used clinically in parts of Europe and in trials in the US to block amatoxin uptake into liver cells.
Mengs U, Pohl RT, Mitchell T. Curr Pharm Biotechnol. 2012;13(10):1964–1970.
Benefits in chronic liver disease
ClinicalResults are mixed; some trials show improved liver enzymes in fatty liver disease, others show no effect on outcomes.
Key constituents
- Silymarin (silibinin, silychristin, silydianin)
- Stabilizes hepatocyte membranes and stimulates protein synthesis.
Sourcing notes
Seed should be whole and freshly ground before tincturing; standardized products often specify 70–80% silymarin.
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