LIVER SHIELD
Silymarin
200mg - 100 capsules
Silybum marianum L. (Milk thistle), a member of Carduus marianum family, is an ancient medicinal plant which has been used for centuries for treatment of different diseases such as liver and gallbladder disorders, protecting liver against snake bite and insect stings, mushroom poisoning and alcohol abuse . This plant can be found in Kashmir, North America, Canada and Mexico with large leaves and a reddish-purple flower that are all thorny and the medicinal part of the plant is either the seeds or fruits.
Milk thistle was first grown in Europe and used as a liver tonic as it was said to be able to open the obstructions of the liver and spleen, and thereby was good for jaundice. Moreover, this herb has been used for centuries as a natural treatment for upper gastrointestinal tract and digestive problems, liver and biliary tract diseases, menstrual disorders and varicose veins.
The very first usage of Milk thistle, however, was for its hepatoprotectant and antioxidant activities. Silymarin is the active component of this herb, which is a complex of other components, mainly silybin A, silybin B, isosilybin A, isosilybin B and also other flavonolignants such as silychristin, neosilyhermin, silyhermin and silydianin which exists in its fruit and seeds more than the other parts.
Silymarin effects have also been indicated in various illnesses of different organs such as prostate, lungs, CNS, kidneys, pancreas, and skin.
Silymarin has besides antifibrotic, immunomodulating, anti-inflammatory effects as well as antioxidant properties by scavenging free radicals and increasing the glutathione concentrations, so that it can be used in hepatitis and hepatic cirrhosis treatment and in mushroom poisoning.
According to pharmacological studies, silymarin has been accepted as a safe herbal product, since using the physiological doses of silymarin is not toxic unless the improper administration of therapeutic dosages.
The main adverse effects reported are headaches, gastroenteritis and dermatological symptoms, among them gastrointestinal symptoms are the most common.
In animal models, silymarin active components had protective effects against hepatotoxic medications for chemotherapy of tuberculosis.
Antioxidant properties have been reported for silymarin, which increases the superoxide dismutase activity within the erythrocytes and lymphocytes. Silymarin can also alleviate hepatocyte membrane and thus prevent the xenobiotics from going into the cell via enterohepatic circulation. Silymarin can slightly bind to the iron and inhibit human hepatocyte glutathione reduction. Silymarin is able to modulate the immune system, and enhances the IFN-γ, IL-4 and IL-10 secretion in cultures containing lymphocytes. Its anti-neoplastic effects are related to the pro-angiogenic factors and growth inhibition, induction of endothelial cells apoptosis through a p53-dependent pathway involving Bcl-2/Bax, cytochrome C release, Apaf-1, and activation of caspase-3 and PARP.