Treatment options for fatty liver are problematic and often have serious side-effects. The treatment can be worse than the disease. Many doctors counsel "watchful waiting" for many of their patients. They may wait until the disease has progressed to the point that heroic measures are necessary. Patients need effective treatments with a low incidence of side-effects. Milk thistle may be such a treatment.
Recently researchers have examined the effects of plants used traditionally by homeopathic healers and herbalists to support liver function and treat diseases of the liver. In most cases, research has confirmed traditional experience and wisdom by discovering the mechanisms and modes of action of these plants as well as reaffirming the therapeutic effectiveness of certain plants or plant extracts in clinical studies. Milk thistle has been fairly well researched. Milk thistle is currently the most well researched plant in the treatment of liver disease (with over 450 published peer review papers).
How Does Milk Thistle Work?
The active constituents of milk thistle are flavonolignans including silybin, silydianin, and silychristine, collectively known as silymarin. Silybin is the component with the greatest degree of biological activity, and milk thistle extracts are usually standardized to contain 70-80 percent silybin. Silymarin is found in the entire plant but is concentrated in the fruit and seeds. Silybum seeds also contain betaine (a proven liver tissue protector) and essential fatty acids, which may contribute to silymarin's anti-inflammatory effect.Milk Thistle And Liver Disease
Many studies have demonstrated the beneficial hepatoprotective effects of treatment with silymarin. In a Finnish military hospital study on consecutive patients with elevated serum liver enzymes (mostly due to ethanol ingestion), 420 mg/day silymarin was found to significantly lower liver enzymes - aspartate aminotransferase (AST), alanine amino-transferase (ALT) - after four weeks. Histologic examination of liver biopsies also demonstrated a statistically significant improvement. [ 1 ]In an Italian study of 20 patients with chronic active hepatitis, 240 mg/day of silybin-phosphatidylcholine complex for only seven days was found to significantly lower serum liver enzymes - AST, ALT, gamma-glutamyl transferase (GGT), alkaline phosphatase, and total bilirubin. [ 2 ]
In a Hungarian study of 36 patients with chronic alcoholic liver disease, 420 mg/day of silymarin resulted in a normalization in serum liver enzymes (AST, ALT, GGT), total bilirubin, and an improvement in the histological examination of liver biopsies after six months of treatment. In addition, procollagen III peptides (a marker of active fibrosis) were found to be significantly decreased in the treatment group. [ 3 ]
In an Austrian study involving 170 patients with liver cirrhosis, 420 mg/day of silymarin for an average of 41 months resulted in a significant improvement in survival (58% in silymarin-treated patients and 39% in the placebo group (P = 0.036)). No side-effects of silymarin were noted in this study [ 4 ] or in others cited above.
 | Additional Information: Read an informative pamphlet about unique herbal formula that has antioxidant and bile flow enhancing properties which combine to protect and stimulate the body’s normal ability to maintain healthy liver cells.* |
 | Buy a unique herbal formula that has antioxidant and bile flow enhancing properties which combine to protect and stimulate the body’s normal ability to maintain healthy liver cells.* |
References
1. Salmi HA, Sarna S. Effect of silymarin on chemical, functional, and morphological alterations of the liver; A double blind controlled study. Scand J Gastroenterol 1982;17:517-521.
2. Buzzelli G, Moscarella S, Giusti A, et al. A pilot study on the liver protective effect of silybin-phosphatidylcholine complex (1dB 1016) in chronic active hepatitis. Int J Clin Pharmacol Ther Toxicol 1993;31:456-460.
3. Feher I, Deak G, Muzes G. Liver-protective action of silymarin therapy in chronic alcoholic liver diseases. Orv Hetil 1989;130:2723- 2727. [Article in Hungarian]
4. Ferenci P, Dragosics B, Dittrich H, et al. Randomized controlled trial of silymarin treatment in patients with cirrhosis of the liver. J Hepatol 1989;9:105-113.
