Milk thistle, Silybum

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

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). 

Omer, E. A., A. M. Refaat, S. S. Ahmed, A. Kamel, and F. M. Hammouda. 1993. Effect of spacing and fertilization on the yield and active constituents of milk thistle, Silybum marianum. J. Herbs Spices Med. Plants 1 17-23. 

Szentimihalyi, ., M. Then, V. Hies, S. Pemeczky, Z. Sandor, B. Lakatos, and P. Vinkler. 1998. Phytochemical examination of oils obtained from the fruit of milk thistle (Silybum marianum L. Gaertner) by suercritical fluid extraction. Z. Naturfor-sch. Sec. C Biosci. 53 9-10, 779-784. 

Flavonolignans are the most extensively studied group of non-conventional lignans, particularly because of their diverse pharmacological activities. Milk thistle (Silybum marianum), an ancient therapy for acute and chronic liver diseases, is the first known source of this group of compounds (15). Havonolignans, isolated... 

Kim NC, Graf TN, Sparacino CM, Wani MC, Wall ME (2003) Complete Isolation and Characterisation of Silybins and Isosilybins from Milk Thistle Silybum marianum). Org Biomol Chem 1 1684... 

Smith WA, Lauren DR, Burgess EJ, Perry NB, Martin RJ (2005) A Silychristin Isomer and Variation of Flavonolignan Levels in Milk Thistle Silybum marianum) Fruits. Planta Med 71 877... 

Flora, K., Hahn, M., Rosen, H., Benner, K. Milk thistle (Silybum marianum) for the therapy of liver disease. Amer. J. Gastroenterol. 1998 93 139-143... 

Pepping, J. Milk thistle silybum marianum. Am. J. Health-Syst. Pharm. 1999, 56, 1195-1197. 

Adverse Drug Reactions Advisory Committee. An adverse reaction to the herbal medication milk thistle Silybum marianum). Med J Aust 1999 170(5) 218-19. 

Some flavonoid glycosides are prepared s)mthetically or by biotransformations, usually for pharmaceutical purposes. Silybin (7) is a flavonolignan that is extracted from seeds of milk thistle (Silybum marianum) and it is used extensively as a potent hepatoprotectant and an antidote in mushroom poisoning. The major drawback of this compound is its low water solubility (about 0.43 g/L). Therefore, its glycosylation was accomplished by biological [13] and chemical methods [14]. 

Oil extracted from Milk Thistle (Silybum marianum) seeds obtained from Sentjernej, Slovenia. 

Milk Thistle Silybum marianum Marian, Our Lady s thistle... 

Foster, S. 1984. Herbal Bounty The Gentle Art of Herb Culture. Gibbs M. Smith, Lay-ton,vr. Pte ce by Shiu YingHu, pp. 9-10 foreword by Richard Evans Schultes, p. ii. Foster, S. 1991. Milk thistle Silybum mari-anum American Botanical CouncilBotan-ical Series No, 305 1—8,... 

Gurley BJ, Barblack cohosh (Cunici a racemosa) supplementation on digoxin pharmacokinetics in humans. Drug Metab Dispos (2006) 34,69-74. 

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