Silybum Mananum Vs. Milk Thistle Seed Extract

Milk Thistle, a plant that grows throughout the Mediterranean, southern Europe and parts of the U.S., has been used for some 2000 years as both food and medicine. While almost the entire plant can be used for food (just remove any small spines or prickles on the leaves and stem), it is the seeds that are used to make milk thistle seed extract. The seeds are the only part of the plant that have silymarin (used to treat liver disorders).

• Milk Thistle flower

What is Milk Thistle?

• Silybum Marianum, or Holy or Blessed Milk Thistle, also has the name Carduus Mariae officinalis. It is a member of the daisy family (Asteraceae) and was prized by the Roman naturalist Pliny for its ability to treat liver disorders and "carry off bile."

  Milk thistle is a plant with dark green leaves dotted with white spots, and capable of exuding a milky sap, which is why it is called milk thistle. Leaves and stems have small spines or prickles on them. The large thistle-like purple flowers contain the seeds. Most of the plant is edible. The milk thistle came into popular use in Europe as food and medicine around the 1500s.

How is Milk Thistle Used?

• The leaves of the plant can be used in a bitter tonic or tea which is said to be good for stomach and digestive ailments. Roots and leaves can be eaten raw or cooked (it is important to trim or cut away the small spines or prickles). The purple flowers can also be eaten.

  Making an extract of milk thistle seeds is preferable to eating the seeds, which are hard, and difficult to digest unless they are well ground. A commercial preparation of the extract is best. Milk thistle seed extract is used to treat liver disease, gallstones, spleen conditions, jaundice, hepatitis and gallstone colic and defend against toxins.

Silymarin -- The Main Component

• Milk thistle seed extract is prepared only from the seeds, and their main component is Silymarin. They contain about 4 to 6 percent flavonolignan silymarin, which is an antioxidant and protects the liver. Silymarin is actually four compounds: isosilybinin, silychristin, silydianin and silybinin, which accounts for some 50 percent of a seed's silymarin content.

  Silymarin contains anti-oxidants that help prevent damage from free radicals and increase protein synthesis in liver cells. It also helps prevent formation of leukotrienes, the fatty acids that help trigger inflammation in asthma and bronchitis.

  Correct dosage of silymarin continues to be studied and debated. Reports on the efffect of low and high doses of silymarin were made by the Journal of Hepatology and Journal of Clinical Gastroenterology, respectively.

Not All Thistles are Milk Thistles

• The genus Silybum adans. has two main species. The best known is Silybum marianum, also known as Holy Milk Thistle, Silver Milk Thistle, Elephant Thistle and Ivory Thistle. The other is Silybum eburneum, called the Blessed Milk Thistle or Variegated Thistle. Both of these have seeds that contain silymarin.

  Other thistle-like plants (Cnicus or Blessed Thistle, Sow thistle and Hare Thistle) do not belong in the Silybum genus. None of these thistle varieties contain silymarin.

Side Effects

• Side effects of milk seed thistle extract can include indigestion and mild gastrointestinal distress. It can also have a mild laxative effect. If you have allergies to plants in the same family (daisies, marigolds, chrysanthemums and ragweed) you will be allergic to milk seed thistle extract.

  Also, the University of Pittsburgh is researching as to whether silymarin slows enzyme activity in the liver. If the enzyme activity slows too much, medication remains in the blood longer, which can lead to higher levels of the drug in your system and more intense side effects. If proved, this could mean Silymarin could be contra-indicated if you were taking certain kinds of drugs.