Silymarin
See also: Hydroxycinnamic acids / Phenylpropanoids ; Lignans
A mixture of the oil-soluble flavonolignans silybin, silydianin and silychristin. Strongly hepatoprotective, hepatoregenerative; antioxidant
What Is the Liver Powerhouse Silymarin?
Silymarin is a flavonoid compound found in the seeds of milk thistle. It consists of the following three phytochemicals: silybin, silidianin, and silicristin. Silybin is the most active phytochemical. Topical silymarin has been shown to have a remarkable antitumor effect. The number of tumors induced in the skin of hairless mice by UVB light was reduced by 92%. Silymarin reduced UV-induced sunburn cell formation and apoptosis. The result was not related to a sunscreen effect and an antioxidant mechanism may be responsible. Silymarin treatment prevents UVB-induced immune suppression and oxidative stress in vivo.
Anitha, T.; Medicinal Plants Used in Skin Protection; Asian Journal of Pharmaceutical and Clinical Research: Vol5. Sup , 2012
About 50 percent to 70 percent of the silymarin molecules present within milk thistle are the type called silybin. This antioxidant stimulates protein synthesis and changes the outside layer of healthy cells, keeping them protected from damage and mutation. It inhibits toxins from dwelling in the body; helps with cell renewal; and counteracts the harmful effects of pollutants, chemicals and heavy metals that can cause “free radical damage.”
Silymarin is a polyphenolic flavonoid derived from milk thistle. Silymarin consists of three phytochemicals: silybin, silidianin and silicristin. Silybin is the most active phytochemicals and is largely responsible for the claimed benefits of silymarin. In animals and humans, peak plasma levels are reached in four to six hours after an oral dose. Silymarin is excreted primarily via the bile but some clearance is also achieved via the kidneys. The clearance half-life of silymarin is six to eight hours. Source
Distribution - Simylarin is found in milk thistle.
Silymarin is not water soluble, making tea preparations ineffective; therefore it is usually administered orally in encapsulated form. Because absorption of silymarin from the gastrointestinal tract is only moderate (23-47%), it is best administered as a standardized extract of 70-80 percent silymarin.
Health Benefits of Silymarin
Silymarin is a antioxidant or free radical scavenger. Skin care products often contain silymarin because it antioxidant activity may reduce the risk for skin cancer risk. Silymarin provides protection against different stages of UVB-induced carcinogenesis. Silymarin protects the liver by promoting the growth of new liver cells. By inhibiting lipid peroxidation silymarin helps to reduce or prevent liver damage caused by alcohol, poisonous mushrooms, drugs and other toxins. Silymarin also helps with the digestion of fats. Studies indicate that silymarin decreasing endogenous insulin overproduction and the need for exogenous insulin administration. Silymarin has also anti-atherosclerotic activity, by inhibiting the expression of adhesion molecules. Pharmacological studies show that silymarin is not toxic.
Study shows that it can inhibit oxidation of LDL cholesterol.
Improves milk production
Animal studies show that silymarin stimulates milk production by increasing serum prolactin levels, but the effect on humans is still not established. In 2010 the European Food Safety Authority (EFSA) rejected a health claim application linking a milk thistle extract, containing 40-80% silymarin, to an increased production of breast milk in woman after delivery.
Synonyms - Silibinin
Articles/Studies
- Silymarin attenuates aspartame-induced variation in mouse behaviour, cerebrocortical morphology and oxidative stress markers.
- An updated systematic review with meta-analysis for the clinical evidence of silymarin.
- What Is the Liver Powerhouse Silymarin?
Anti-oxidant
Flavolignans from silymarin as Nrf2 bioactivators and their therapeutic applications.
Bones
Cancer
- Multitargeted therapy of cancer by silymarin
- Silymarin attenuated mast cell recruitment thereby decreased the expressions of matrix metalloproteinases-2 and 9 in rat liver carcinogenesis.
- Aledavood SA, Karimi G. Effect of Oral Silymarin Administration on Prevention of Radiotherapy Induced Mucositis: A Randomized, Double-Blinded, Placebo-Controlled Clinical Trial.
- Silymarin, a naturally occurring polyphenolic antioxidant flavonoid, inhibits azoxymethane-induced colon carcinogenesis in male F344 rats
- Silymarin selectively protects human renal cells from cisplatin-induced cell death.
- Topical silymarin administration for prevention of acute radiodermatitis in breast cancer patients: A randomized, double-blind, placebo-controlled clinical trial.
Diabetes
Hepatoprotective
- Hepatoprotection of silymarin against thioacetamide-induced chronic liver fibrosis.
- Silymarin use and liver disease progression in the Hepatitis C Antiviral Long-Term Treatment against Cirrhosis trial.
- A Randomized Trial of Silymarin for the Treatment of Nonalcoholic Steatohepatitis.
- Randomized controlled trial of silymarin treatment in patients with cirrhosis of the liver.
- Liver-protective action of silymarin therapy in chronic alcoholic liver diseases.
- Supplementation with silymarin appeared to modulate the oxidative stress, histopathological alterations and genotoxic damage caused by deltamethrin.
- Spirulina platensis versus silymarin in the treatment of chronic hepatitis C virus infection. A pilot randomized, comparative clinical trial.
- Milk thistle, a herbal supplement, decreases the activity of CYP3A4 and uridine diphosphoglucoronosyl transferase in human hepatocyte cultures.
- Dietary Silymarin Supplementation Alleviates Zearalenone-Induced Hepatotoxicity and Reproductive Toxicity in Rats
- Silymarin in non-cirrhotics with non-alcoholic steatohepatitis.
Immunomodulating
- Silymarin impacts on immune system as an immunomodulator: One key for many locks.
- Silymarin restores regulatory T cells (Tregs) function in Multiple sclerosis patients in vitro.
Insulin Resistance
Silymarin is an ally against insulin resistance: A review.
Neuroprotective
- Silymarin can effectively alleviate acrylamide induced neurotoxicity in PC12 cells.
- Silibinin: A novel inhibitor of Aβ aggregation
- Silymarin attenuated the amyloid β plaque burden and improved behavioral abnormalities in an Alzheimer’s disease mouse model.
- Silymarin attenuated the amyloid β plaque burden and improved behavioral abnormalities in an Alzheimer’s disease mouse model.
- Anxiolytic- and antidepressant-like effects of Silymarin compared to diazepam and fluoxetine in a mouse model of mild traumatic brain injury
Radiation Protection
Radioprotective effects of Silymarin on the sperm parameters of NMRI mice irradiated with γ-rays
Stress
Drug interactions
The effect of silymarin on oral nifedipine pharmacokinetics.
Milk thistle and indinavir: a randomized controlled pharmacokinetics study and meta-analysis