MILK THISTLE
Milk thistle, also known as the Marian, St. Mary's, or Our Lady's thistle, is a tall herb with prickly leaves and a milky sap. Milk thistle is native to the Mediterranean region of Europe but naturalized in California and the eastern United States. Botanically, milk thistle is known as Silybum marianum (L.) Gaertn., a member of the family Asteraceae. In older literature, as well as some modem European works, it is cited as Carduus marianus L.. Over the years, several other plants have been referred to as milk thistles, but authorities now reserve that common name for this species. Also, it must not be confused with the blessed or holy thistle, which is Cnicus benedictus L., an entirely different plant, although the similarity of the religiously inspired common names is confusing. Another area of confusion with respect to the milk thistle is the part used; these are small hard fruits known technically as achenes from which a feathery tuft or pappus has been removed. Most of the English language herbal literature incorrectly refers to these fruits as seeds, which they do resemble, but which they are not. To confuse the matter more, some products have appeared in the market in recent years that contain milk thistle leaf. No therapeutic efficacy can be expected from milk thistle leaf-containing products. Virtually all research has been conducted on the fruits, specifically a well-defined extract of the fruits. The fruits of the milk thistle have been used for many years for a variety of conditions, but especially for liver complaints. However, medicinal use of the plant, except perhaps as a simple bitter, was practically discontinued early in the twentieth century. In 1947, the United States Dispensatory devoted one short paragraph to the medication, primarily to its historical aspects. Then, about thirty years ago, German scientists undertook a chemical investigation of the fruits and succeeded in isolating a crude mixture of antihepatotoxic (liver protectant) principles designated silymarin, which is contained in the fruits in concentrations ranging from 1 to 4 percent. Subsequently, silymarin was shown to consist of a large number of flavonolignans, including principally silybin, accompanied by isosilybin, dehydrosilybin, silydianin, sily-christin, and others. Studies in small animals have shown that silymarin exerts a liver protective effect against a variety of toxins, including the phallotoxins of the deadly amanita, and is considered the only antidote to amanita poisoning. Human trials have also been encouraging! for conditions including hepatitis and cirrhosis of various origins. The results of numerous studies suggest that silymarin has considerable therapeutic potential, protecting intact liver cells, or cells not yet irreversibly damaged, by acting on the cell membranes to prevent the entry of toxic substances. Protein synthesis is also stimulated, thereby accelerating the regeneration process and the production of liver cells. As a result of this information, German health authorities have endorsed the use of milk thistle as a supportive treatment for inflammatory liver conditions and cirrhosis. Unfortunately, silymarin is very poorly soluble in water, so milk thistle is not effective in the form of a tea. Studies show that such a beverage contains less than 10 percent of the initial activity in the plant material. This poor solubility, coupled with the fact that silymarin is relatively poorly absorbed (20 to 50 percent) from the gastrointestinal tract, make it obvious that the active principles are best administered parenterally, that is, by injection. Oral use requires a concentrated product. Milk thistle is marketed in this country as a dietary supplement in the form of capsules containing 200 mg of a concentrated extract representing 140 mg of silymarin. Toxic effects have not been reported and milk thistle is considered very well-tolerated and quite effective. Milk thistle was brought to the United States and has adapted to life in the wild in California and along the East Coast. The sap is white and milky, perhaps explaining at least one of its common names. The white spots along the ribs of the leaves were said to have been drops of the Virgin Mary's milk. The herb was used in times past to help encourage milk production, but this may have been due to the name and the association. The medicinal use of milk thistle goes back two thousand years. Pliny the Elder wrote of it, praising its value for "carrying off bile." Medieval herbalists also made use of this property, and in the sixteenth century English herbalists adopted it. It did not maintain its popularity, however, and by the early twentieth century only homeopaths were familiar with it. With a renewal of interest in herbal medicines, researchers started to investigate milk thistle scientifically in the 1950s. The part of the plant that is used is the small hard fruit with the fuzz (technically called "pappus") removed. PARTS USED Seeds, flower heads. USES Traditional uses - Milk thistle flower heads, boiled and eaten like artichokes, were useful as a spring tonic after the winter months when people had been deprived of fresh vegetables. They were also taken to increase breast-milk production, and were considered excellent for melancholia (depression), which was traditionally associated with the liver. Gerard stated in his Herball of 1597, "My opinion is that this (milk thistle) is the best remedy that grows against all melancholy diseases." Liver disorders - Today, milk thistle is the main remedy used in Western herbal medicine to protect the liver and its many metabolic activities, and help renew its cells. Milk thistle is used in the treatment of hepatitis and jaundice, as well as in conditions where the liver is under stress whether from infection, excess alcohol, or from chemotherapy prescribed to treat diseases such as cancer. In this last instance, milk thistle can help to limit damage done to the liver by chemotherapy and speed up recovery from side effects once the treatment is completed. Other medical uses - Breast cancer, Iron overload, Prostate cancer.
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