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Home > Anti-aging Research > Silymarin

Silymarin (Silybum marianum)/Milk Thistle

Specific Recommendations:

• Silymarin products at iHerb
• Vitacost milk thistle products

News & Research:

• Milk Thistle - Vitacost Health Library
• Liver Health—Milk Thistle - natmedonline.com
• SILIPHOS™: Nature's Potent Liver Remedy - Dr. Murray
• I have seen artichoke extract and milk thistle extract being promoted as liver remedies. Which one is better? - Dr. Murray
• Silymarin, Might Help in Insulin Resistance, Cancer - thenutritionreporter.com
• Scientific Evidence Of The Significant Anti-cancer Effect Of Milk Thistle - Science Daily, 11/14/07 - "Their research results indicate that silibinin can be used to prevent the development of liver cancer, one of the most common cancers worldwide"
• Milk Thistle Supplements review - ConsumerLab.com, 6/13/07 - "our tests showed one supplement to have only 20% of the expected amount of silymarin compounds — the key active components of milk thistle. Four other products provided no more than two-thirds of their expected amounts. Another fell short by 16%. And one supplement failed to identify the part of milk thistle used — a FDA labeling requirement"
• Milk Thistle May Help Treat Diabetes - WebMD, 10/31/06 - "At the study's start, the patients had similar blood sugar levels and blood sugar control ... But after taking the tablets for four months, the milk thistle group showed better blood sugar control and cholesterol and triglyceride levels"
• Milk thistle extract could help diabetes control - Nutra USA, 10/30/06 - "fasting glucose levels of the supplementation group decreased from 156 milligrams per decilitre (mg/dL) of blood to 133 mg/dL, while the placebo group's fasting glucose levels increased from 167 to 188 mg/dL" - See iHerb or Vitacost silymarin products.
• Milk Thistle May Slow Lung Cancer  - WebMD, 6/20/06 - "They found smaller lung tumors in the mice with silibinin in their diets, compared with those consuming no silibinin. They also had fewer large lung tumors"
• Misinformed about Milk Thistle? - Dr. Weil, 5/1/06
• Milk Thistle May Not Cut Liver Disease - WebMD, 12/27/05
• A New Weapon to Fight Prostate Cancer - Life Extension Magazine, 11/05 - "Scientists have shown that milk thistle extracts possess anti-cancer actions on human prostate carcinoma in vitro and in vivo. Many of the mechanisms by which silymarin compounds interfere with prostate cancer progression have been identified. The scientists who conducted the most recent study stated that, in addition to isosilybin B, there might be other silymarin compounds that are effective as well"
• Milk thistle "does not" lower mortality - Nutra USA, 5/3/05
• Milk Thistle Supplements review - ConsumerLab.com, 10/28/04
• Silibinin: The Herbal Extract that Protects the Liver - Life Extension Magazine, 12/03 - "The extract from the seeds of milk thistle contains silibinin, a substance with powerful liver-protection effects. In addition, silibinin can help reduce inflammation, diminish oxidation and free radical damage and enhance health in other ways"
• Can I take silymarin for my liver continuously, or do I need to take breaks as with some other herbs? - drjanson.com, 3/03
• Silybin-Beta-Cyclodextrin Reduces Glucose, Triglyceride Levels In Diabetes With Liver Disease - Doctor's Guide, 11/12/02 - "Fasting blood glucose levels decreased by 14.7 percent from baseline in patients receiving silybin-beta-cyclodextrin ... Plasma triglycerides concentrations dropped from a mean 186 to 111 mg/dl at six months in those that received silybin-beta-cyclodextrin" - See iHerb or Vitacost silymarin products.
• Pharmacology of Silymarin - Medscape, 1/02
• Liver And Kidney Protection - Courtesy of Silibinin - Life Extension Magazine, 6/00 - "We live in an age of toxic overload. Silibinin, the chief active ingredient in milk thistle extract, is one of our best defenses against this constant chemical assault. Silibinin is highly effective at protecting the liver, the pancreas and the kidneys from toxic damage, an ever-increasing danger due to our exposure to harmful chemicals. In addition, silibinin has been shown to have various other health benefits, including cancer prevention. The right dosage is extremely important for effectiveness. People who complain that herb products do not deliver as promised typically use products that contain only ineffective, miniscule doses of the main active ingredient. Fortunately, more and more herbal extracts, including silibinin, are now available in guaranteed potency form, and in sufficient dosage to produce results."
• Can Silibinin Arrest Cancer Cells Growth? - Life Extension Magazine, 6/00 - "It has been established that silibinin is an effective scavenger of various free radicals, including hydroxyl and peroxyl radicals, and the hypochlorite ion that originates in neutrophils (Mira 1994). While it constitutes an important antibacterial defense, the hypochlorite radical is also extremely damaging to normal cells, and must be quickly "disarmed." Unchecked, the hypochlorite ion can even chlorinate DNA bases. In the presence of iron, it creates the hydroxyl radical, which can also directly attack DNA ... Silibinin has been found to protect red blood vessels and stabilize their membranes through inhibition of lipid peroxidation. In addition, silibinin increases the activity of the antioxidant enzymes superoxide dismutase (SOD) and glutathione peroxidase in human red blood cells (Altorjay 1992). Another study found that silymarin normalized low SOD activity and altered immunoreactivity in the lymphocytes (a common type of white blood cell) of patients with alcoholic liver cirrhosis"
• Milk Thistle - Compiled by Chad Bradshaw, Pharm.D
• The Prediabetic Epidemic - Nutrition Science News, 3/01 - "Supplements to Regulate Glucose and Insulin ... Alpha-Lipoic Acid ... Vitamin E ... Vitamin C ... Chromium ... Silymarin is an antioxidant extract of the herb milk thistle (Silybum marianum). It has been shown to reduce all of the major indicators of diabetes, including blood sugar, insulin, glycosuria, and glycosylated hemoglobin. Researchers achieved these results with 800 mg daily of a standardized silymarin extract given for one year. The benefits appeared consistently after about 60 days, and all diabetic signs improved further over the course of a year. However, lower doses are probably sufficient in combination with other supplements ... Supplement tips: With other supplements, 200­400 mg/day of a standardized extract of silymarin should help maintain normal glucose levels"
• Milk Thistle's Liver-Protective Properties - Nutrition Science News, 10/99
• Milk Thistle Fruit - Nutrition Science News, 10/99
• Can Cirrhosis be Prevented? - Nutrition Science News, 1/99
• Artichoke Family Shows Promise in Preventing Skin Cancer - Doctor's Guide, 4/27/97 - "Only 25% of the silymarin-treated mice developed tumors compared to 100% of the control group mice"

Abstracts:

• The Effect of a Silybin-Vitamin E-Phospholipid Complex on Nonalcoholic Fatty Liver Disease: A Pilot Study - Dig Dis Sci. 2007 Apr 5 - "silybin conjugated with vitamin E and phospholipids could be used as a complementary approach to the treatment of patients with chronic liver damage"

Other possible silymarin retailers:

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