(Silymarin)
Milk thistle (Silybum marianum) is a plant with purple flower. Juice and seeds contain as an active ingredient silymarin, a potent antioxidant and a term that is often used synonymously for milk thistle. Silymarin may be further divided into three primary flavonoids: silybin, silydianin and silychristin. Excerpts from the milk thistle should be standardized to 80 percent silymarin.
(See also nutritional supplements Overview.) The milk thistle (Silybum marianum) is a plant with purple flower. Juice and seeds contain as an active ingredient silymarin, a potent antioxidant and a term that is often used synonymously for milk thistle. Silymarin may be further divided into three primary flavonoids: silybin, silydianin and silychristin. Excerpts from the milk thistle should be standardized to 80 percent silymarin. Allegations are believed suitable milk thistle for cirrhosis treatment and can protect the liver from viral hepatitis, alcoholic damage and hepatotoxic drugs (1). Milk thistle can improve 2 (2), the glycemic control in type I diabetes, and in some cases, healing of mushroom poisoning known (3). Documents In a Cochrane review of 2007 were 13 randomized clinical trials on milk thistle in 915 patients with alcoholic and / or hepatitis B or C virus liver diseases rated (4). determine the data from this analysis that the intervention has no significant effect on total mortality, complications of liver disease or liver histology. If all tests are included in the analysis, the liver-related mortality was significantly reduced; However, this reduction was in an analysis, which is limited to high-quality studies, not significant. Milk thistle was not associated with a significant increase in side effects. The design of these clinical trials has been questioned, and the authors have questioned the benefits of milk thistle and made the need for more well-designed placebo-controlled studies clearly. In vitro the intrahepatic glutathione levels increased under the influence of silymarin; Glutathione as an antioxidant for the detoxification function of the liver important (5). Another recent analysis of nine randomized, placebo-controlled trials (487 patients) (2) shows that milk thistle can improve glycemic control in type 2 diabetes; However, the studies were small and therefore more high-quality, large, controlled studies with standardized preparations will be needed before advantageously statements are justified. Recently, good results in 2 cases of poisoning exhibited by the ingestion of Amanita mushrooms (3) after treatment with silybin. Undesirable effects serious side effects have been reported. Women who have hormone-sensitive conditions (eg breast, uterine and ovarian cancer, endometriosis. Fibroids) should not take preparations from the aerial parts of the milk thistle. Drug interactions milk thistle can enhance the effect of antihyperglycemic agents (6) and interfere with a Indinavirtherapie (7). Silybin inhibits enzymes of the phases 1 and 2 and inactivated cytochrome P450 3A4 and 2C9. Notes on milk thistle Loguercio C and D. Festi silybin and the liver: From basic research to clinical practice. World J Gastroenterol 17 (18): 2288-2301, 2011. Suksomboon N, N Poolsup, Boonkaew S, et al. Meta-analysis of the effect of herbal supplement on glycemic control in type 2 diabetes. J Ethnopharmacol 137 (3): 1328-1333, 2011. Ward J, K Kapadia, Brush E, et al. Amatoxin poisoning: case reports and review of current therapies. J Emerg Med 44 (1): 116-121, 2013. Rambaldi A, Jacobs BP, Gluud C. Milk thistle for alcoholic and / or hepatitis B or C virus liver diseases. Cochrane Database Syst Rev (4) CD003620, 2007. Valenzuela A, Aspillaga M, S Vial, et al. Selectivity of silymarin on the increase of the glutathione content in different tissues of the rat. Planta Med 55 (5): 420-422, 1989. Wu JW, Lin LC, Tsai TH. Drug-drug interactions of silymarin on the perspective of pharmacokinetics. J Ethnopharmacol 121 (2): 185-193, 2009. van den Bout-van den Beukel CJ, Koopmans PP, van der Ven AJ, et al. Possible drug-metabolism interactions of medicinal herbs with anti-retroviral agents. Drug Metab Rev 38 (3): 477-514., 2006