Thistle, milk

Parts Caraway 20 Parts Javanese turmeric 30 Parts Dandelion 20 Parts Milk-thistle herb 20 Parts Peppermint leaves... 

Marien-bad, n. water bath, -distel, /. milk thistle (Silybum marianum). -glas, n. selenite (ruasisches) mica. -kSfer, m. ladybird. -kSmer, n.pl. milk-thistle seed. 

By extraction of the fruits of Silybwn inarianwn Gaertn. (milk thistle) and column chromatographic purification. 

I also figured out that certain foods were contributing to my brain fog, so I avoided those and started making my breakfast from an immune support recipe I was given, with milk thistle, lecithin, flax seed and all kinds of things in it. Gradually, my total load of chemicals was reduced and I got my brain back. Then there was so much hope ... 

Chromatographic profiles of calendula, milk-thistle and passion flower tinctures (each 60 per cent v/v, ethanol) are shown in Fig. 2.50. Analytes were well separated under the... 

Fig. 2.50. Profiles of calendula (a), milk-thistle (b) and passion flower (c) tinctures (each 60 per cent v/v, ethanol) with the HPLC-MS attributions of the components detected, lc = quercetin-3-O-ruti-nosylrhamnoside 2c = rutin 3c = isorhamnetin-3-O-ruti-nosylrhamnoside 4c = isoquercitrin 5c = isorhamnetin-3-O-gluco-sylglucoside 6c = narcissin 7c = isorhamnetin-3-O-glucoside lm = taxifolin 2m = siliydianin 3m = silychristin 4m = oxy derivative of silybin/isosilybin isomers 5m and 6m = 2,3-dehydro derivatives of silybin/isosilybin isomers 7m = silybin 8m = isosilybin lp = 6,8-diC-glucosylapigenin 2p = isoschaftoside 3p = shaftoside 4p = homoorientin 5p = isovetexin-2"-0-glucoside 6p = vitexin. Reprinted with permission from A. R. Biha et al. [150].

LIST AND AMOUNTS (MG/ML MEANS SD OF RESULTS FROM THREE REPLICATE ANALYSES) OF FLAVONOLS PRESENT IN CALENDULA. FLAVOLIGNANS IN MILK-THISTLE AND FLAVONS PASSION FLOWER TINCTURES... 

A.R. Bilia, D. Salvini, G. Mazzi and F.F. Vincieri, Characterization of calendula flower, milk-thistle fruit, and passion flower tinctures by HPLC-DAD and HPLC-MS. Chromatographia 53 (2001) 210-215. 

Bhatia N, Zhao J, Wolf DM, Agarwal R. (1999) Inhibition of human carcinoma cell growth and DNA synthesis by silibinin, an active constituent of milk thistle Comparison with silymarin. Cancer Lett 147 77-84. 

Milk thistle Ambiguous and uncertain evidence for protection against liver disorders... 

Alcoholic cirrhosis has been improved (faster return of fiver enzymes to baseline) in at least three trials, although one multicenter Spanish study failed to demonstrate any change in the clinical course. There is no evidence to support the use of milk thistle to increase alcohol tolerance, although it is certainly being used for this purpose. The effectiveness of silymarin for viral hepatitis is not clear, although several trials demonstrated enough benefit to encourage further studies. 

Intravenous silymarin has been demonstrated to lower mortality from Amanita mushroom poisonings, but this formulation is available only in Europe. Animal studies have demonstrated hepatic protection against alcohol, acetaminophen, and mushroom toxins and protection against hepatic fibrosis with bile duct occlusion. There is also evidence of silybin protecting against cis-platin-induced nephrotoxicity in rats. It is not yet clear whether milk thistle extract offers any renal protection to humans. 

Milk thistle appears to be remarkably safe, with loose stools due to increased bile solubility and occasional allergic reactions being the common side effects. It has not been evaluated in children or in pregnant women. There are no known serious drug or herb interactions. 

Milk thistle has shown promise in improving liver function parameters in various hepatotoxic situations, such as alcoholic cirrhosis and mushroom poisoning. It is still unclear whether it will offer protection against viral hepatitis and various nephrotoxic agents. 

Piscitelli SC, Formentini E, Burstein AH, Alfaro R, Jagannatha S, Falloon J. Effect of milk thistle on the pharmacokinetics of indinavir in healthy volunteers. Pharmacotherapy 2002 22 551-556. 

DiCenzo R, Shelton M, Jordan K, et al. Coadministration of milk thistle and indinavir in healthy subjects. Pharmacotherapy 2003 23 866-870. 

Silymarin is considered the active constituent of the milk thistle seed, but it is not a single compound but a descriptive term for several flavonoli-gnans. Constituent analysis of five milk thistle products identified six constituents (representative amount) taxifolin (3.3%), silichristin (23.6 /o), silidianin (5.3 /o), silybin A (20%i), silybin B (30.7%i), and isosilybin (17.3 /o). The total amounts of silybin A and B in the five different products analyzed ranged from 45.7 /o to 61%i. The biological effect of each constituent is not known hence, spectrophotometric analysis would not provide sufficient information for a critical comparison of these products. 

Marked variations in the stability of 21 tinctures and 13 related singleentity plant compounds were noted (26). Bilia et al. (27) investigated the stability of 40% and 60% v/v tinctures of artichoke, SJW, calendula flower, milk thistle fruit, and passionflower. The investigation showed a very low thermal stability of the constituents from accelerated and long-term testing as determined by HPLC iode array detector and MS analyses. Stability was related both to the class of flavonoids and water content of the investigated tinctures. Shelf life at 25° C of the most stable tincture (passionflower 60% v/v) was about six months, whereas that of the milk thistle tinctures was only about three months. The stability of artichoke and... 

Bilia AR, Bergonzi MC, Gallori S, Mazzi G, Vincieri FF. Stability of the constituents of Calendula, milk-thistle and Passionflower tinctures by LC-DAD and LC-MS. J Pharm Biomed Anal 2002 30 613-624. 

Gurley BJ, Gardner SF, Hubbard MA, et al. Assessment of botanical supplementation on human cytochrome P450 phenotype Citrus aurantium, Echinacea, milk thistle, saw palmetto. Clin Pharmacol Therapeut 2004 75(2) P35. 

Milk thistle (Silybum marianum) is an annual to biennial plant of the Aster-aceae family. It is native principally to southern Europe and northern Africa. The crude drug consists of the ripe fruits from which the pappus has been removed. Milk thistle fruits contain 15% to 30% proteins. The main active compounds constitute only about 2% to 3% of the dried fruits. The active principle is a mixture of flavolignans called silymarin. Silymarin, a polyphenolic extract isolated from the seeds of milk thistle, is composed mainly of silybin (50 70%), with small amounts of other silybin structural isomers, namely isosilybin, silydianin, and silychristin (Fig. 11) (123-125). The highest concentration of silymarin is found in the ripe fruits (126). Silibinin is the main compound, also considered to be the most active one in several paradigms (127). 

T raditionally, milk thistle fruits have been used for disorders of the liver, spleen, and gall bladder, such as jaundice and gall bladder colic. Milk thistle has also been used for nursing mothers for stimulating milk production, as a bitter tonic, for hemorrhoids, for dyspeptic complaints, and as a demulcent in catarrh and pleurisy. It is stated to possess hepatoprotective, antioxidant, and choleretic properties (128). Current interest is focused on the hepatoprotective activity of milk thistle and its use for the treatment of liver, spleen, and gall bladder disorders (129). Recently it has been shown that silibinin reduced prostate-specific antigen levels in prostate carcinoma cells lines, indicating a possible role of silibinin in human prostate cancer (130,131). 

Table 4 Data of Carduus marianus (Milk Thistle) Extract and Purified Compounds in Humans After Oral Administration... 

The fruit and seeds of the milk thistle plant contain a lipophilic mixture of flavonolignans known as silymarin. Silymarin comprises 2-3% of the dried herb and is composed of three primary isomers, silybin (also known as silybinin or silibinin), silychristin (silichristin), and silydianin (silidianin). Silybin is the most prevalent and potent of the three isomers and accounts for about 50% of the silymarin complex. Products should be standardized to contain 70-80% silymarin. 

In animal models, milk thistle purportedly limits hepatic injury associated with a variety of toxins, including Amanita mushrooms, galactosamine, carbon tetrachloride, acetaminophen, radiation, cold ischemia, and ethanol. In vitro studies and some in vivo studies demonstrate that silymarin reduces lipid peroxidation, scavenges free radicals, and enhances glutathione and superoxide dismutase levels. This may contribute to membrane stabilization and reduce toxin entry. 

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