What Is Milk Thistle? Facts And Information On The Plant

• In the 1960s, researchers in Germany, based on milk thistle‘s history and efficacy in a clinical context, began looking at the herb more closely to find its active compounds. [5]

• In 1986, the Commission E in Germany “approved an oral extract of milk thistle standardized to 70% crude silymarin content as a treatment for liver disease.” [5]

• Milk thistle contains nutrients such as calcium, essential fatty acids, iron, magnesium, manganese, phosphorus, potassium, selenium, and zinc. [4]

• Milk thistle contains phytochemicals such as apigenin, beta-carotene, fumaric acid, kaempferol, naringenin, quercetin, silandrin, silybin, silychristin, silydianin, silymarin, silymonin, and taxifolin. [4]

• The active compounds in milk thistle which are most responsible for its many health benefits are flavonoids called silymarin.

• Silymarin consists of silicristin, silidianin and silibinin, of which the latter is the most active and contributes most to silymarin’s health benefits. [6]

• The parts of the milk thistle plant typically used are the fruit, leaves, and seeds. [4]

• It is unclear whether the fruit or the seeds of the plant are usually or most commonly used as an herbal remedy. Some sources state that the fruit of the plant is dried and then used in modern herbal extracts, and that it is the dried fruit of the milk thistle plant which contains the well-known healthful compound silymarin. [6][10] Elsewhere, however, it is stated that it is typically the seeds which are used for medicinal purposes, adding that they are harvested and dried. [3]

See next page for the references used.

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