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Article: Milk thistle and the liver: recent findings.(Phytotherapy Review & Commentary)
- Article from:
- Townsend Letter: The Examiner of Alternative Medicine
- Article date:
- December 1, 2007
- Author:
CopyrightCOPYRIGHT 2007 The Townsend Letter Group. This material is published under license from the publisher through the Gale Group, Farmington Hills, Michigan. All inquiries regarding rights should be directed to the Gale Group. (Hide copyright information)
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Milk thistle (Silybum marianum) is native to the Mediterranean region but has been introduced to most areas of the world, where it is often regarded as a weed. Its use as a liver herb appears to have originated from Germany, (1) and more recently, a concentrated, standardized extract has been extensively investigated as an antioxidant and hepatoprotective agent.
The standardized extract contains flavonolignans, collectively referred to as silymarin. (1) Sometimes the extract itself is called "silymarin," which can lead to confusion over dosage since the level of flavonolignans (silymarin) in the extract is typically 60% to 80%, depending on the test methodology ...