Milk thistle for the liver

WHAT YOU NEED TO KNOW ...

• Milk thistle is a medicinal plant that belongs to the genus silybum. Only its seeds are used.
• Its compound, silymarin, is capable of protecting the liver and regenerating it. It also helps reduce gas and flatulence.
• The seeds are taken as an infusion or as a standardized preparation (200-400 mg of silybin).

Plant

Milk thistle belongs to the Asteraceae family, of the genus Silybum. The plant has a rosette of leaves at the base, which are oval with irregular lobed edges and thorns; they are bright green and have white veins.

The stems of the plant reach highly variable heights, depending on the terrain and other factors, being able to stay at approximately one hand in height or grow to over a meter and a half. The flowers are deep pink or purplish-blue and usually appear in the second year. The part used is the seeds.

Name

Silybum refers to the name given by Dioscorides to certain edible thistles; marianum refers to the Virgin Mary. Legend has it that when Mary tried to hide the Child Jesus from the persecutors that Herod had sent, milk spilled from her womb which dyed the leaves of this thistle white.

Historical uses

Milk thistle seeds have been used for centuries for various medicinal purposes, including "detoxifying" the liver.

Current uses

Most of the studies have been done with an extract from the seeds of milk thistle that contains a mixture of compounds known as silymarin. These extracts have been shown to be able to protect and regenerate the body and are used as an aid in toxin or alcohol poisoning treatments. They have also been shown to help reduce gas and flatulence in the digestive tract.

How is it taken?

Milk thistle seeds:

• In infusion, the crushed seeds are used. It is prepared with 3 to 5 g of seeds per cup of water. And you can have a cup up to three times a day.
• As a liver detoxifier, it is recommended to use standardized silymarin preparations at doses equivalent to 200-400 mg of silymarin (the main component of silymarin).

Contraindications, adverse effects and recommendations

Due to lack of safety studies, milk thistle is not recommended without authorization and medical supervision in pregnancy and lactation.