{"id":410,"date":"2010-12-19T23:01:49","date_gmt":"2010-12-19T23:01:49","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/vitamins.ultimatefatburner.com\/?p=410"},"modified":"2015-02-12T20:40:08","modified_gmt":"2015-02-13T01:40:08","slug":"milk-thistle-seed","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.ultimatefatburner.com\/vitamins\/milk-thistle-seed.html","title":{"rendered":"Milk Thistle (Silymarin): Benefits and Side Effects"},"content":{"rendered":"

A short, wide, prickly plant known as milk thistle<\/strong> (Silybum marianum<\/em>) is the source of a popular herbal remedy that is widely used to support healthy liver function<\/a>.<\/p>\n

Milk thistle is an invasive species that, ironically, can be toxic to grazing cattle<\/a>. The seeds, however, are another matter. They contain a complex of “flavonolignan” (part flavonoid, part lignan) compounds, silibinin, silidianin, and silicristin, that are collectively known as “silymarin.”<\/p>\n

Silymarin and its components show great therapeutic promise, and are the subjects of ongoing research and clinical trials<\/a>.<\/p>\n

Studies have confirmed that the active components in milk thistle have hepatoprotective effects\u2014that is, they can help protect the liver from damage from toxic or disease-causing agents.<\/p>\n

Animal experiments have shown, for example, that milk thistle\/silymarin administration can reduce liver damage from acetaminophen<\/a> (Tylenol), excess iron<\/a>, alcohol<\/a> and carbon tetrachloride<\/a>.<\/p>\n

In addition, animal models suggest milk thistle and\/or its components could alleviate oxidative stress<\/a> and reduce memory impairments associated with Alzheimer’s disease<\/a>.<\/p>\n

Silymarin may exert other neuroprotective effects,<\/a> as well as promote skin health: topical silymarin was found to reduce skin damage from experimental burns<\/a> and inhibit photocarcinogenesis induced by UV radiation<\/a>.<\/p>\n

Some human data has also been collected on patients with cirrhosis<\/a> and hepatitis<\/a>, although the results have been mixed<\/a>. In addition, a recent clinical trial concluded that milk thistle may reduce the liver toxicity associated with cancer chemotherapy<\/a>.<\/p>\n

Lastly, silymarin appears to be beneficial in cases of Amanita phalloides<\/em> poisoning<\/a>.<\/p>\n

What about milk thistle for healthy people? It’s often touted as a hangover cure<\/a>, a “detox” or “cleansing” agent<\/a>, and an adjunct to anabolic steroid\/prohormone use.<\/p>\n

Unfortunately, there’s only anecdotal evidence in support of these uses.<\/p>\n

Milk thistle can be purchased in a variety of forms. The active ingredients can be extracted with alcohol to produce a tincture, or pills can be prepared using the seeds.<\/p>\n

Milk thistle teas made from bulk seed are also available, but very little of the active ingredients are present in steeped teas.<\/p>\n

Potential users should also be aware that quality-control can be an issue with milk thistle supplements\u2014an independent test by Consumer Labs revealed that the majority of products sampled were low in the active ingredients<\/a>.<\/p>\n

Few side effects have been reported from the use of milk thistle seed extract, though capsules or tablets can sometimes cause stomach irritation. A mild laxative effect has been reported as well, but this is often a desired effect of treatment.<\/p>\n

Despite its relative safety, the usual cautions apply for pregnant\/nursing women and those taking prescription drugs. In particular, people taking certain allergy medications, statins, anti-anxiety drugs or blood-thinners should consult with their healthcare providers<\/a> before using milk thistle.<\/p>\n

Silymarin is available online from BodyBuilding.com<\/a>, one of our recommended online retailers.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

A short, wide, prickly plant known as milk thistle (Silybum marianum) is the source of a popular herbal remedy that is widely used to support healthy liver function. […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":[],"categories":[10,3,7],"tags":[117,116,118],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.ultimatefatburner.com\/vitamins\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/410"}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.ultimatefatburner.com\/vitamins\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.ultimatefatburner.com\/vitamins\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.ultimatefatburner.com\/vitamins\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/1"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.ultimatefatburner.com\/vitamins\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=410"}],"version-history":[{"count":4,"href":"https:\/\/www.ultimatefatburner.com\/vitamins\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/410\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":1220,"href":"https:\/\/www.ultimatefatburner.com\/vitamins\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/410\/revisions\/1220"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.ultimatefatburner.com\/vitamins\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=410"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.ultimatefatburner.com\/vitamins\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=410"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.ultimatefatburner.com\/vitamins\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=410"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}