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Milk Thistle
Milk thistle is typically found growing naturally in regions throughout the world including the United States. Most herbal extracts and preparations are produced using the dried fruit of the milk thistle plant.
The active constituent in milk thistle which is responsible for the medicinal effects of the plant is a flavonoid complex called silymarin. Silymarin is made up of three component parts: silibinin, silidianin, and silicristin. Silibinin is the most active and is largely responsible for the medicinal properties attributed to silymarin.
Milk thistle extract may protect the liver from a variety of harmful substances. It prevents toxins from penetrating the interior of liver cells, while promoting the growth of healthy new cells to repair liver damage. Other compounds in milk thistle extract are believe to have a similarly renewing effect on the kidneys, and may even offer some benefit to the prostate gland. As with other bioflavonoids, silymarin is a powerful antioxidant.
For liver ailments, dosage ranges from 140 to 600 milligrams daily, taken in 2 or 3 smaller doses from an herbal extract of milk thistle standardized to 80% silymarin content. According to research and clinical experience, improvement should be noted in about eight to twelve weeks. For people with chronic liver disease, milk thistle extract may be considered a long-term therapy. Since potency of commercial preparations may vary, follow the manufacturer's instructions whenever available.
Milk thistle (Silybum marianum [Latin]), also called silybum and holy thistle, has been used to treat liver ailments since the days of ancient Rome. Milk thistle improves the liver's ability to eliminate toxins from the body, and repairs damage to the liver caused by hepatitis, cirrhosis, poisonous mushrooms, drugs, and toxic chemicals.
Preliminary research suggests that this herb also helps lower cholesterol, and boosts the body's production of its own powerful natural antioxidant, glutathione.
A flavonoid complex called silymarin, which is extracted from milk thistle seeds, is thought to provide this herb's considerable medicinal benefits. The silymarin complex contains four phytochemicals: silybinin, isosilybinin, silydianin, and silychristin. The terms "milk thistle" and "silymarin" are often used interchangeably.
Numerous studies from Europe have shown conclusively that taking milk thistle supplements helps extend the life of patients suffering from cirrhosis. Researchers tracked patients diagnosed with cirrhosis for five years, and found that those taking 200 milligrams of milk thistle extract three times a day had improved liver function and death rates that were approximately 50 percent lower than those taking placebos. Several European studies have also shown that silymarin helps normalize liver function in people with hepatitis A, B, and C.
Milk thistle has been traditionally used to treat liver poisoning caused by eating Amanita phalloides mushrooms (death caps). Several European studies have shown that silymarin neutralizes this poisonous mushroom more effectively than activated charcoal, the remedy prescribed in mainstream medicine.
Research has also shown that milk thistle protects the liver from the damage that can result from prolonged use of drugs, such as acetaminophen, antibiotics, antipsychotics, and antidepressants. In one study, milk thistle even demonstrated the ability to normalize liver enzyme levels in participants whose liver had been damaged by toxic chemicals.
There is no mainstream medicine that can offer people suffering from liver disorders benefits comparable to those of milk thistle. The stems, leaves, flower buds, and seeds of this plant are edible. However, wild milk thistle doesn't provide as much silymarin as the specially bred variety used in standardized extracts and capsules, so if you are using this medicine to treat rather than prevent an ailment, you might want to stick with commercial preparations. The usual dosage is 200 milligrams in standardized silymarin capsules or 1 teaspoon in liquid extract of silymarin three times a day, or up to 1,000 milligrams of milk thistle in capsules daily.
People with liver disease or damage should be under a doctor's care, and anyone suspecting mushroom poisoning should immediately call poison control.Antioxidant properties
Dandelion contains Luteolin, an antioxidant, and has demonstrated antioxidant properties.
Phosphatidylcholine (derived from lecithin), a primary dietary source of choline, is composed of a phosphate group, 2 fatty acids, and choline. The composition of essential fatty acids in phosphatidylcholine determines its value in promoting health. When phosphatidylcholine is ingested, most of it is broken down into choline, glycerol free fatty acids, and the phosphate group, rather than being incorporated intact into cellular membranes.
* Although choline can be manufactured in humans from either methionine or serine, it has recently been designated an essential nutrient. Function
* Choline is required for the proper metabolism of fats; it facilitates the movement of fats in and out of cells. Like Vitamin B12, 5-adenosylmethionine, and Folic Acid, choline acts in the human body as a methyl donor. As such, choline is essential for proper liver function due to its key role in the lipotropic effect, i.e., the export of fat from the liver. In the absence of adequate choline, fats become trapped in the liver, where they block metabolism. Stagnation of fat and bile eventually leads to the development of more serious liver disorders such as cirrhosis.
* Choline is needed for cell membrane integrity because of the critical role it plays in the manufacture of primary components of cell membranes, such as phosphatidylcholine and sphingomyelin.
* Choline is essential in the synthesis of acetylcholine. Choline supplementation increases the accumulation of acetylcholine which plays a crucial role in many brain processes, including memory. (Canty, DJ and Zeisel, SH. Nutr Reviews. 52;327-339, 1994)
* Phosphatidylcholine increases the solubility of cholesterol and thereby decreases cholesterol`s ability to induce atherosclerosis. Phosphatidylcholine aids in lowering cholesterol levels, removing cholesterol from tissue deposits, and inhibiting platelet aggregation. (Brook, JG, Linn, S, and Aviram, M. Biochem Med Metabol Biol. 35;31-39, 1986.) The high content of linoleic acid in phosphatidylcholine may be responsible for much of the benefit derived from supplementation. Mode of Action
* Choline acts as a methyl donor, especially in liver function.
* Choline enables synthesis of acetylcholine, phosphatidylcholine and sphingomyelin.
Therapeutic Uses
Liver Disorders
Phosphatidylcholine is used in the treatment of a variety of liver disorders, including:
Acute & Chronic Viral Hepatitis: Chronic viral manifestations severely challenge the liver yet numerous controlled trials have established PC as a safe and potent intervention for infection (Mueting 1972, Hirayama 1980, Yamo1978, Kosina 1981, Jenkins 1982, Visco 1985, Hantak 1990, Ilic and Begic-Janev 1991). Optimal results were achieved in these studies when subjects were maintained on a combination of oral and infused PC utilizing higher doses. Once clinical indicators began returning to normal subjects were maintained on oral doses of PC. In addition to decreases in liver enzymes, serum lipids, immune markers and bilirubin, subjects experienced reversal of fatty degeneration, inflammation, jaundice, liver swelling and fibrosis, per liver biopsy.
Cirrhosis of the liver
Decreased bile solubility
Diabetic fatty liver
Drug-induced liver damage: The use of anticonvulsant drugs often leads to liver toxicity. Subjects who had received anticonvulsants for an average of five years were assessed by GGT elevation (Hisanaga 1980) and given PC for six months. Positive outcome was consistently achieved in subjects in addition to a decrease in GGT levels.
Toxic liver damage: (Kuntz 1965) reported remarkable effects with PC in subjects with chemical poisoning and Esslinger (1966) with plant toxin.
Fatty liver: 650 subjects with varying degrees of liver damage were followed for 5 years. Subjects received intravenous PC at 950 mg along with oral PC (450- 700 mg). When blood parameters returned to normal subjects were shifted to oral PC only. Subjects were categorized as to severity of liver damage: fatty degeneration, acute inflammation, chronic aggressive inflammation, and advanced fibrotic damage. All groups in the study had marked benefit. There was reversal of fatty degeneration in many subjects and in those with acute inflammation PC accelerated recovery by an average of ten days. (Wallnoefer and Hanusch 1973).
Alcohol-induced liver disease: Studies with baboons have found that phosphatidylcholine supplementation protects against alcohol-induced liver abnormalities and cirrhosis; presumably some of these same effects will be present in humans. Nevertheless, choline salts do not seem to be of any value in the treatment of alcohol-induced liver disease in humans but may be useful in general liver support. (Lieber,CS and Rubin, E. N Engl J Med 280;705-708, 1969) Detoxification
The health of the membrane is synonymous with the health of the entire organism. Toxins have an affinity for fatty acids; they literally take up residence in the lipid environment and in so doing, weaken and disrupt. The probable result is early apoptosis, premature...Read more›
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Vitamin Shoppe - Liver Support With Milk Thistle
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