Annual or biennial herb, Silybum marianum (L.) Gaertn. (Asteraceae/Compositae). Ripe seeds (fruit) used in traditional medicine for hepatoprotective properties. Habit. Mediterranean Europe. Constit. Fruit: silymarin flavolignans, flavonoids, and fatty oil (20-30%); leaves: flavonoids including apigenin, luteolin, kaempferol, and their glycosides, sterols, fumaric acid. Isoln and characterization of phenolic compounds from Silybum marianum: B. Janiak, R. Hnsel, Planta Med. 8, 71 (1960). Comprehensive description and medicinal uses: J. Barnes et al., Herbal Medicines (Pharmaceutical Press, London, 3rd Ed., 2007) pp 429-435. Review of therapeutic use in liver diseases: K. Ball, K. V. Kowdley, J. Clin. Gastroenterol. 39, 520-528 (2005) DOI PubMed; A. Rambaldi et al., Am. J. Gastroenterol. 100, 2583-2591 (2005) DOI PubMed. Review of therapeutic potential: J. Post-White et al., Integr. Cancer Ther. 6, 104-109 (2007) DOI PubMed; of milk thistle nomenclature and clinical applications: D. J. Kroll et al., ibid. 110-119 DOI PubMed; of clinical development: C. Tamayo, S. Diamond, ibid. 146-157 DOI PubMed.
Antihepatotoxic principle isolated from seeds. Commercial product consists of 70-80% silymarin flavonolignans: silybin and isosilybin diastereomers A and B, q.q.v., silydianin, and silycristin. LC/MS determn of active constituents in commercial product: J. I. Lee et al., J. Chromatogr. B 845, 95 (2007) DOI PubMed. Large-scale purification of flavonolignans: T. N. Graf et al., Planta Med. 73, 1495 (2007) DOI PubMed. Review of use in treatment of liver diseases: R. Saller et al., Drugs 61, 2035-2063 (2001) DOI PubMed; of anticancer properties: R. Agarwal et al., Anticancer Res. 26, 4457-4498 (2006) PubMed.
Hepatoprotectant.
Silymarin: Hepatoprotectant