Milk Thistle
Milk Thistle France & Germany
Silymarin
Three bioflavonoids of the silymarin group are particularly efficient at nullifying
the impact of several toxins including alcohol. They especially protect
and help heal liver cells. Normal life processes will produce approximately
one ounce of alcohol in your body each day. So a good antioxidant/antitoxin
of this type should slow the rate at which your body is aging itself.
Also protects antioxidant glutathione, emulsifies fats, inhibits inflammatory
enzymes and assists digestion, protects liver from heavy metals and
has helped varicose veins.
Milk thistle is a flower, more specifically a member of the aster family. Its
seeds and roots have been used for an assortment of medical purposes for
thousands of years. Three biochemicals of interest have been isolated from the
milk thistle: silychristine, silydianin, and silybin. The mixture of these three
substances is called ?silymarin.? Silymarin has been traditionally used in the
treatment of liver disease and, while it has recently been advocated for use in
pets, all scientific information available concerns human use. The biological
mechanism of action is yet unknown but several theories exist:
- Silymarin may control cell membrane permeability, which means that
silymarin may control what substances actually enter the interior of a cell.
- Silymarin may inhibit chemical pathways leading to inflammatory biochemicals.
- Silymarin may have free radical scavenging properties which means that it
may absorb harmful reactive atoms that could damage other molecules.
- Silymarin may increase protein production by liver cells.
- Silymarin may stabilize mast cells (cells containing inflammatory granules).
- Silymarin in higher doses increases the flow of bile.
The most scientific information concerning the use of silymarin regards Amanita
mushroom poisoning. Silymarin prevents uptake of the poison into the
cells of the liver and thus prevent the lethal liver damage associated
with this type of mushroom poisoning. Silymarin is regularly used for
an assortment of liver diseases including cirrhosis and viral hepatitis
in humans.
Silymarin, derived from the milk thistle plant, Silybum marianum, has
been used for centuries as a natural remedy for diseases of the liver
and biliary tract. As interest in alternative therapy has emerged in
the United States, gastroenterologists have encountered increasing numbers
of patients taking silymarin with little understanding of its purported
properties. Silymarin and its active constituent, silybin, have been
reported to work as antioxidants scavenging free radicals and inhibiting
lipid peroxidation. Studies also suggest that they protect against genomic
injury, increase hepatocyte protein synthesis, decrease the activity
of tumor promoters, stabilize mast cells, chelate iron, and slow calcium
metabolism. In this article we review silymarin's history, pharmacology,
and properties, and the clinical trials pertaining to patients with
acute and chronic liver disease.
|
Friendly
