Silibinin (INN), also known as silybin, is the major active constituent of silymarin, a standardized extract of the milk thistle seeds containing mixture of flavonolignans consisting of among others of silibinin, isosilibinin, silicristin and silidianin. Silibinin itself is mixture of two diastereomers silibinin A and silybinin B in approximately equimolar ratio. Both in vitro and animal research suggest that silibinin has hepatoprotective (antihepatotoxic) properties that protect liver cells against toxins.[1][2] http://www.ebiochem.com/Search/search/cate2/name/cate/0/keywords/silymarin/
Silibinin has also demonstrated in vitro anti-cancer effects against human prostate adenocarcinoma cells, estrogen-dependent and -independent human breast carcinoma cells, human ectocervical carcinoma cells, human colon cancer cells, and both small and nonsmall human lung carcinoma cells. Silymarin is a unique flavonoid complex—containing silybin, silydianin, and silychrisin—that is derived from the milk thistle plant. These unique phytochemicals from the milk thistle have been the subject of decades of research into their beneficial properties.
In 1968, a group of German scientists discovered the active flavonoid complex silymarin, which provides milk thistle's medicinal benefits.Since then, hundreds of studies have been done on silymarin, and it is approved in the German Commission E Monographs (the most accurate information available on the safety and efficacy of herbs) as a supportive treatment for inflammatory liver conditions such as cirrhosis, hepatitis, and fatty infiltration caused by alcohol and other toxins.
As we've seen, silymarin has proved to be successful in treating alcohol-related liver disease. In one study, researchers assessed the benefits of milk thistle extract on 170 patients, 91 of them alcoholics with liver cirrhosis. Subjects received 140 mg silymarin three times a day for 41 months. The four-year survival rate was 58 percent in the silymarin group and 39 percent in the placebo group. The reduced death rate among those taking silymarin was most pronounced in the alcoholic cirrhosis subgroup. There were no side effects from silymarin.
This study is significant for several reasons. Since there were no side effects, the results support the idea that long-term treatment is beneficial and not likely to be harmful. These results also indicate that silymarin may be particularly effective for patients with alcohol-induced liver damage. it is not surprising that an antioxidant like silymarin would have anti-cancer effects, the molecular effects of silymarin that give it powerful anti-cancer properties have amazed even the scientific community. In the last few years, researchers have begun to discover exactly why silymarin has such broad anti-cancer properties.
Among the most promising cancer fighting strategies that researchers are trying to develop are angiogenesis inhibitors (which stop the proliferation of blood vessels that feed tumors), cell cycle regulators, and selective promoters of cancer cell death. Amazingly, silymarin has been shown to possess all of these abilities. A review of research into silymarin's effects on prostate cancer concluded that silymarin has a huge potential to interfere with many molecular events involved in cancer cell growth, progression, and angiogenesis. One study done in August 2008 indicated that silymarin may inhibit metastasis in prostate cancer. 31 Another study done in September 2008 identified the strong efficacy of silymarin in prostate cancer prevention and intervention, as reported in previous studies.
Silibinin has also demonstrated in vitro anti-cancer effects against human prostate adenocarcinoma cells, estrogen-dependent and -independent human breast carcinoma cells, human ectocervical carcinoma cells, human colon cancer cells, and both small and nonsmall human lung carcinoma cells. Silymarin is a unique flavonoid complex—containing silybin, silydianin, and silychrisin—that is derived from the milk thistle plant. These unique phytochemicals from the milk thistle have been the subject of decades of research into their beneficial properties.
In 1968, a group of German scientists discovered the active flavonoid complex silymarin, which provides milk thistle's medicinal benefits.Since then, hundreds of studies have been done on silymarin, and it is approved in the German Commission E Monographs (the most accurate information available on the safety and efficacy of herbs) as a supportive treatment for inflammatory liver conditions such as cirrhosis, hepatitis, and fatty infiltration caused by alcohol and other toxins.
As we've seen, silymarin has proved to be successful in treating alcohol-related liver disease. In one study, researchers assessed the benefits of milk thistle extract on 170 patients, 91 of them alcoholics with liver cirrhosis. Subjects received 140 mg silymarin three times a day for 41 months. The four-year survival rate was 58 percent in the silymarin group and 39 percent in the placebo group. The reduced death rate among those taking silymarin was most pronounced in the alcoholic cirrhosis subgroup. There were no side effects from silymarin.
This study is significant for several reasons. Since there were no side effects, the results support the idea that long-term treatment is beneficial and not likely to be harmful. These results also indicate that silymarin may be particularly effective for patients with alcohol-induced liver damage. it is not surprising that an antioxidant like silymarin would have anti-cancer effects, the molecular effects of silymarin that give it powerful anti-cancer properties have amazed even the scientific community. In the last few years, researchers have begun to discover exactly why silymarin has such broad anti-cancer properties.
Among the most promising cancer fighting strategies that researchers are trying to develop are angiogenesis inhibitors (which stop the proliferation of blood vessels that feed tumors), cell cycle regulators, and selective promoters of cancer cell death. Amazingly, silymarin has been shown to possess all of these abilities. A review of research into silymarin's effects on prostate cancer concluded that silymarin has a huge potential to interfere with many molecular events involved in cancer cell growth, progression, and angiogenesis. One study done in August 2008 indicated that silymarin may inhibit metastasis in prostate cancer. 31 Another study done in September 2008 identified the strong efficacy of silymarin in prostate cancer prevention and intervention, as reported in previous studies.