Milk thistle and the mixture of milk thistle antioxidants known as silymarin aren’t just for liver and gallbladder health. This venerable ancient herbal medicine has at least 27 applications to a variety of health conditions affecting organ systems all over the body.
It even appears in modern cosmeceuticals. The following article will outline 27 milk thistle uses in addition to liver and gallbladder support.
Milk thistle and silymarin are far more versatile in supporting liver health. It is the most well known of milk thistle uses.
One of the symptoms of cholestasis is extremely unpleasant, namely, constant, severe itching. People in this phase of the disease may not be able to sleep, work, or eat, and often result to self-mutilation just to stop the itch. Milk thistle will help to stop the itch if cholestasis is the cause.
Milk thistle stops cholestasis by stimulating the liver to secrete bile. The bile carries waste products out of the liver and into the bowel, where they can be flushed away with stool. Furthermore, silymarin also protects membranes that are irritated by bile salts that were not carried out of the liver with bile to stop the itch.
Doctors are most likely to recommend silymarin for cholestasis that does not respond to the more commonly used prescription drug ursodeoxycholic acid. Additionally, clinical studies find that silymarin is most effective in a dose of 180 mg taken three times a day,[28] although it is not necessary to exactly duplicate this dosing schedule.
It is hard not to notice a stray milk thistle plant that sprouts in your garden. Who would have thought the list of milk thistle would be so long? This prickly green herbaceous plant can grow 3 to 10 feet (1 to 3 meters) tall. Its stalks sprout alternating green leaves that have white veins. If you cut a milk thistle leaf, it will ooze a milky sap. That’s how the plant got its name, milk thistle.
If you touch the edges of a milk thistle leaf, you will be poked by tiny barbs.
In addition, at the top of the plant there is a purple flower that bears “fruit” and seeds. It is the fruit that is the best source of the well-known milk thistle chemical called silymarin, although silymarin is also found in the leaves, seeds, and taproot.
One of the milk thistle uses that is often overlooked is the fact that milk thistle is an edible plant. The leaves make an interesting, spinach-like addition to salads—but it is important to remember to snip off their thorns first.
In addition, the mature flower head can be eaten like a tiny Globe artichoke, but again, remember to remove the thorns. Furthermore, the peeled stalk can be cooked like celery, and the taproot tastes something like a Jerusalem artichoke. Furthermore, the seeds can be used in crackers and ground to make teas.
Most of us, however, don’t have milk thistle growing conveniently in our kitchen gardens. Rather, most of us use either milk thistle seed, or an extract called silymarin that contains the most important healing chemicals in the seed, or a combination of both.
However, milk thistle is not always taken orally. Sometimes it is used in cosmetics. That is because one of the antioxidants found in silymarin, silibinin, can even improve your skin tone.
Some very preliminary studies show that the silibinin in silymarin may stop the action of vascular endothelial growth factor (VEGF), which accelerates the growth of fragile blood vessels that characterize the “wet” form of age-related macular degeneration.[3] Though this is one of the milk thistle uses that is least studied, it appears that there is great potential here.
Milk thistle contains an unusually broad variety of compounds known as phenols, which have antibacterial activity.
Among the microorganisms neutralized by silymarin in laboratory studies are Escherichia coli, extended spectrum β-lactamases (ESBL) producing Escherichia coli, Proteus mirabilis, methicillin-resistant Staphylococcus aureus (MRSA) and Pseudomonas aeruginosa.[4]
A clinical trial involving men who had benign prostate hypertrophy conducted in the Czech Republic found that taking 240 micrograms of selenium plus 570 mg of silymarin every day for 180 days improved urine flow, enlarged bladder capacity, and lowered prostate-specific antigen (PSA).[5]
Little known in the United States, beta-thalassemia is one of the world’s most common causes of anemia. Over one hundred million people in North Africa and Asia have this hereditary disease.
It is possible to treat the anemia with blood transfusions, but repeated blood transfusions cause toxic levels of iron to build up in the body, especially in the liver, kidneys, pancreas, and brain.
Clinical reports show that silymarin treatment helps prevent dysfunctions of the organs in conjunction with chelation therapy.[6] Therefore, because silymarin is one of the active ingredients in the milk thistle plant, helping beta-thalassemia is another one of milk thistle uses.
Mothers of pre-term infants (“preemies”) often have difficulty producing breast milk. Silymarin has been used to stimulate breast milk production for centuries.
The principle is so well established that outside the United States doctors simply accept it as a folk remedy with proven results and as one of the main milk thistle uses.
Unfortunately in the United States there was concern that the herb might somehow be harmful. However, it is not. A recent study confirmed that no harmful compounds go into breast milk from milk thistle.[7]
A small-scale clinical trial with volunteers who had type II (hereditary, not dietary) high cholesterol found taking 420 mg of silymarin (a pharmaceutical grade form of milk thistle sold in Europe as Legalon) for 90 days “slightly” lowered total cholesterol but increased the percentage of protective HDL cholesterol without adversely affecting liver function.[9]
This is one of the milk thistle uses that is becoming more widely realized, and it has shown promising results so far.
Preeclampsia is a condition of dangerously high blood pressure during pregnancy. It often requires early delivery of the baby to save the life of both the newborn and the mother. Preeclampsia often causes both liver and kidney damage.
Iranian scientists who gave mothers just a small 70 mg dose of silymarin 3 and then 24 hours after the pregnancy ended found that liver enzymes were more nearly normal on the second and third day compared to women who did not get silymarin.[10] This is one of the most exciting newfound milk thistle uses, and we will surely see more research on this in the future.
Some preliminary studies suggest that silymarin may help prevent hearing loss caused by loud noise or chemical agents. While there is not as much research available to show this as one of the standard milk thistle uses, there are early findings that show great potential.
If you struggle with hearing loss, then taking a milk thistle supplement is worth a try. If nothing else, you will enjoy all of the other health benefits that this powerful plant has to offer.
The dyes used for MRIs and CAT scans sometimes cause serious kidney damage. In a clinical study, this kind of damage happened only about one-third as often in patients who had taken 420 mg of silymarin before the procedure.[11]
Kidney failure is a dreaded complication of long-term, uncontrolled type 2 diabetes. A clinical trial showed that adding milk thistle to common medications for diabetic kidney failure reduces protein “leaks” from the kidneys and improves creatinine levels.[12]
Some very preliminary research suggests that a component of silymarin called silibinin may help In recovery of mental function after methamphetamine abuse.[13]
While yet to be extensively studied and added to the list of milk thistle uses, it appears that milk thistle could be a useful supplement for people who are struggling with methamphetamine addiction.
In Europe, intravenous silymarin is standard treatment for poisoning by the deadly Amanita “death cap” mushrooms.[14]
Silymarin is also used to treat mushroom poisoning in the US but doctors are usually not familiar with it. However, this is certainly one of the undeniable milk thistle uses.
Just how well does silymarin work against this particular kind of mushroom poisoning? Generally speaking, severe liver damage can be avoided if silymarin is given by a doctor by IV within 24 hours of the poisoning. In one study, a series of 18 patients were treated with silymarin, and all patients survived except one patient.[15]
Preliminary experiments show that silymarin helps rebalance the processes of bone destruction and bone creation to prevent fractures while building sturdier bones.[16]
Although the research is very preliminary, several studies suggest that silymarin may help stabilize the energy-making mitochondria in the cells of the hippocampus of the brain, preserving their ability to make and respond to dopamine, and slowing or stopping the progression of Parkinson’s disease.
As you are probably starting to realize, the list of milk thistle uses seems to be ever expanding. As more research is conducted, new important discoveries are made about this common weed as a healing plant.
Preliminary studies show that silymarin helps to resolve gastrointestinal ulcers by reducing production of stomach acid and by increasing the production of protective antioxidants such as superoxide dismutase.[17]
A study of 120 men with Peyronie’s disease (curvature of the penis) found that including silymarin with other daily antioxidants such as vitamin E, bilberry, and gingko reduced pain during sex and improved erectile dysfunction.[18]
Antioxidant supplements are always maximally effective when combined with other medical treatments, such as topical diclofenac sodium and injectable pentoxifylline (PTX).[19]
Laboratory studies with prostate cancer cells suggest that silibinin is likely to inhibit the migration of prostate cancer into bone.[20] Therefore, because silibinin is one of milk thistle’s active compounds, helping prostate cancer may be on the list of known milk thistle uses.
Once again, if you have prostate cancer, then it is worth a try because you will at the very least enjoy all of the other benefits this incredible plant has to offer.
One of the most difficult complications of radiation therapy for cancer is mucositis, a blistering of the soft tissues of the mouth, lips, and throat that make eating and drinking painful.
A clinical trial involving volunteers who took 140 mg of silymarin or a placebo three times a day for six weeks found that silymarin delayed and decreased this painful reaction to radiation therapy.[21]
One of the components of silymarin, a milk thistle chemical called silibinin, makes prostate cancer cells more susceptible to radiation treatment by inhibiting their DNA repair mechanisms.
When the cancer cell is irradiated, it is more likely to die when there has been silymarin treatment.[22] Yet another reason to add it to the list of milk thistle uses.
An international clinical trial involving volunteers who had rheumatoid arthritis treated with Prednisolone, Hydroxychloroquine or Sulfasalazin, and Methotrexate tested the effects of adding a silymarin supplement. All of the volunteers for the trial had RA for at least two years already.
Taking 140 mg of silymarin three times a day for three months resulted in a complete remission from joint tenderness in 61 percent of the volunteers and a complete remission from joint swelling in 71 percent.
In addition, these results agreed with laboratory findings that “sed” rate and CRP, both measures of inflammation, were negative in approximately 70 percent of the volunteers by the end of the study.[23] Therefore, this may quickly be becoming one of the main milk thistle uses.
Some very preliminary studies point to the use of silymarin in preventing potentially deadly lung and brain injury caused by sepsis, especially in diabetics.[24] If this indeed turns out to be one of the proven milk thistle uses, then it would be an ideal natural treatment for sepsis.
The plant chemical berberine, found in goldenseal and Oregon grape root, has long been believed to be useful In controlling blood sugar levels and helping type 2 diabetics to lose weight. The problem with berberine is that it is poorly absorbed.
Combining berberine with a silymarin phytosome, however, increases the absorption of both. In addition, a clinical study in which type 2 diabetics were given silymarin plus berberine or a placebo for 52 weeks found that the combination of these two herbal supplements resulted in:
Therefore, natural weight control may become one of the top milk thistle uses. OmniBiotics stays up to date with all of the most recent scientific research on natural supplements, especially with our own ingredients. As a result, you will see updates in all of this information as the research evolves.
Sterile dressings with silymarin help newly formed skin cells find their way into the protein matrix of new skin forming over a wound. This property may be used to create products that accelerate the healing of slow-to-heal wounds of diabetics.[27]
Herbal cosmeceuticals for nourishing as well as improving the appearance of the skin are becoming more and more popular.
Since the primary mechanism through which exposure to the sun ages the skin is oxidation, herbal antioxidants are an obvious, natural remedy for rejuvenating the skin.
Silibinin is possibly the most versatile of all the herbal cosmeceutical ingredients on the market today. And because milk thistle contains silibinin, herbal cosmeceuticals is another one of the milk thistle uses becoming well known.
Scientific studies have shown that silibinin:
Furthermore, some of the most advanced cosmeceuticals use silibinin to:
Many of the clinical trials of silymarin tested the benefits of milk thistle when taken with other supplements.
Most of the clinical research into the applications of milk thistle has used silymarin, a mixture of eight antioxidant chemicals found in milk thistle, because this mixture can be standardized to yield reliable results. The true potency of healing plants, however, is not limited to any one healing chemical.
That’s why it is always best to take a product that delivers both the known power of silymarin in a standardized dose, along with the whole herb for the fullest range of milk thistle benefits.
