Milk Thistle (Silybum marianum)
Silybum marianum is a member of the Asteraceae or Aster family and is commonly known as milk thistle or Saint Mary’s thistle. It is adaptive with low requirements and grows as an annual or biennial thistle up to four feet tall. It’s native to Europe, and was brought into the United States where it is cultivated and potentially invasive.
Milk thistle is easy to identify from other thistles by the white marbling of its large, dark green, hairless leaves and basal rosette. The white markings on the leaves are caused by the white sap which offered the name “milk”. The leaves are sharp and spiny and can grow up to six foot long. The flowers are soft purple tufts, which are protected with dense bristle-spines that can be carefully cut away to reveal the seeds. Thistle spines are actually exaggerated serrations of leaves and bracts.
The potent milk thistle seeds have the power to protect and revitalize our major organ of detoxification, the liver. The standardized extract known as silymarin contains three flavonoids, silybin (predominates) followed by silydianin and silychristin. (PMID: 16164374)
It’s a plant with many points (besides sharp ones) worth appreciating.
Plant Parts Used: Seeds medicinally, whole plant for food. Traditionally, the leaves have been used in salads, and the fruit of the flower has been roasted as a coffee substitute.
Taste/Temperature: Bitter and nutty/Neutral
Therapeutic Actions: Hepatoprotective, antibacterial, alterative, anti-inflammatory, antioxidant, membrane stabilizing, anti-fibrotic, anti-diabetic, hypocholesterolemic, immuno-modulatory, anti-cancer.
Medicinal Uses: Damage to the liver by poisons, toxins, medications, recreational drugs, alcohol, pollutants, food and drink additives to include alcoholic liver diseases and liver cirrhosis. Adjunct to therapy for diabetes, especially with liver symptoms such as depression and irritability. Adjunct to treatment of skin disorders and cancers associated with hepatic congestion or weakness and accumulation of toxins.
Constituents: Silymarin; isosilibinin A & B, silichristin, and silidianin. Flavonoids; taxifolin, quercetin, and kaempferol. beta-sitosterol, linoleic and oleic acids, protein (25-30%), and mucilage.
“The active constituent of milk thistle [seeds] is silymarin, which is a complex mixture of flavonoids and flavonoid derivatives, the flavonolignans. The major constituents of silymarin are the three diastereomeric pairs, silybins A and B (also called silibinin), isosilybins A and B, silychristin, isosilychristin, and silydianin. Most supplements are standardized according to their silybin content.”. (https://www.cancer.gov)
DOSAGE
- Tincture (1:5/1:10): 20-30 drops, 3x/day
- Liquid Extract (1:1): 1.5-3 ml, 3x/day
- Concentrated Extract: 70-200 mg in tablet or capsule standardized to 70-80% silymarin, 3x/day
- Decoction: 1 tsp-1 tbsp of crushed seed per cup of water, 2x/day
DURATION: Take standard dose as long as necessary. Long-term is safe. However, prolonged use, beyond what is needed for treatment, may cause headaches and itching.
Contraindications:
- No reports of adverse effects, including for pregnancy and lactation.
- If a person has liver damage due to being an alcoholic, alcohol-based tinctures should not be used in any amount.
- A very high dose can cause loose stools due to increased bile flow, simply cut back on dosage.
The female goldfinch is one of the birds that consistently uses milk thistle down to line her nest. The photo is a male goldfinch eating a favorite food, thistle seed. Photo by Will Sweet
FUN FACTS
Thistle heads are equipped with a generous supply of down, which is designed to lift the seeds away with the wind. Thistle-down quilts were great for snuggling in the winter. It can also be used as tinder for campfires. Birds use the down in their nests, as well as eating the seeds attached to it.
THISTLEDOWN
Set loose from summer’s churlish hand,
All day they pass my door,
White voyagers to no man’s land,
To ports without a shore.
– Lizette Woodworth Reese
MORE ON MILK THISTLE
Milk thistle’s action is multifactoral, hepatoprotective through a number of mechanisms. Actions include antioxidant activity; toxin defense at the membrane level; enhanced protein synthesis; antifibriotic activity; and anti-inflammatory activity.
Glutathione is one of the body’s most important antioxidants that is critical for efficient detoxification. Milk thistle is one of the few herbs that can increase the glutathione content of the liver, intestine, and stomach. It also prevents the depletion of glutathione induced by microorganisms, alcohol, and other toxic chemicals.
Milk thistle also increases the potent antioxidant known as superoxide dismutase. Superoxide dismutase (SOD) transforms toxic superoxide into hydrogen peroxide, thereby limiting the detrimental effects of reactive oxygen species (free radicals).
Another valuable use of this herb is to stimulate the regeneration of liver and kidney cells, which is good for conditions such as hepatitis (viral induced inflammation that damages the liver), fatty liver, and cirrhosis of the liver. Many herbalists also refer to milk thistle as a blood cleanser.
Did You Know…antioxidants are anti-agers? The antioxidants are produced by the body to keep free radicals in check by seeking to neutralize any unpaired electrons, i.e., free-radicals they find. Supplements and foods rich in antioxidants support the body’s ability to produce antioxidants and support the immune system. A good diet of fresh fruits, vegetables, and teas may be enough, unless you’ve been ill or under tremendous stress, which stimulates an overabundance of free radicals.
Milk thistle, along with bilberry, hawthorn, green tea, and many others contain rich and powerful antioxidants, as well as vitamins C, E, and beta-carotene. Antioxidants keep inflammation in check, fight bacteria, and help regulate normal activity of the blood vessels and organs by keeping the smooth muscles in tone.
MILK THISTLE USES
Externally: used to prevent melanin production for those with pigmentation disorders.
Internally: taken as extract, tincture, decoction, capsule. Milk thistle is best taken before exposure to liver toxins, 15 minutes before or during intake of known toxic substance such as foods, beverages, over-the-counter drugs, etc.
Deathcap Mushroom Poisoning: a specific for anyone poisoned by Amanita phalloides, the deathcap mushroom. Use of an injectable form of milk thistle for the silibin has been noted to provide a full recovery as late as 36 hours after poisoning occurred. Liver cells die so quickly with this poison, that ingested milk thistle will take too long to reach the blood stream. However, if the ingested form is all that you have access to, then take the seed powder as soon as possible and as often as possible to increase chances of saving the liver.
Liver Disease or Inflammation: Equal parts milk thistle, dandelion, globe artichoke, and Oregon grape; take 1-2 dropperfuls of tincture, 3-6x/day.
Iron Overload: Take milk thistle capsules, 2x/day if someone has received chronic blood infusions which may lead to an iron overload that can damage the liver.
Gallstones: Equal parts milk thistle, oregon grape, and fringetree; take a teaspoon of tincture 3-4x/day for many months to assist someone with a history of acute gallstones and right upper quadrant pain.
Hormone Balancing Blend: Two parts each of dandelion root and chaste tree berry powder combined with one part each of dong quai, yellow dock root, and milk thistle seed powder. Place powders in capsules or make a tincture. Take two doses per day for five days, then two days off for up to six months, however discontinue during menses. Recipe by Rosemary Gladstar, Herbal Recipes for Vibrant Health.
Decoction: Milk Thistle constituents are best extracted by boiling the water, add the seeds then immediately turn the heat down and simmer for 15-20 minutes.
MILK THISTLE RECIPES
Fresh use of seeds, roots, leaves, and stalks. Eat leaves in salad after removing the spines. Peel stalks to eat fresh (as you would a celery stalk), juice, put in smoothies and soups, or bake in pies. Be careful when harvesting milk thistle, as they say, “touch me not, but add butter”! They truly are one of the hardest to gather of wild foods, however maybe easier than black walnuts. Be sure to wear gloves, have pruners, and trim spines with scissors.
The first-year root and leaves are edible, but there isn’t much of a root for a while. The leaves are edible, however you must cut off the spines, which is labor intensive. Another option is to strip the green off the leaf leaving the very edible midrib. Rub the “wool” off and enjoy, raw or cooked. In the second year plant, the inner core of the flower stalks is quite tasty and not that much work. The leaves are still edible if you strip them of spines. All can be eaten raw, steamed or boiled. (Or roast whole by a fire and squeeze the cooked core out.)
Additionally, all thistles in the genus Cirsium, and the genus Carduus, are edible. Or said another way, there is no poisonous true thistle, but not all of them are palatable. The yellow star thistle, Centaurea, research states that some are edible and some are not. The native, C. americana, is bitter, has hydrocyanic acid, and is toxic to livestock, particularly horses.
Tip: soak the plant parts in water before using to remove bitterness.
HOT TEA for MEMORY: milk thistle pairs nicely with other herbs to enhance flavors and benefits. Mix with ginko biloba, gotu kola, wood betony and maca root.
SEED SNACK: milk thistle seeds can be soaked for several hours to remove the hull and eat as a snack. (Hull can be left on for medicinal purposes).
SEASONING SALT: milk thistle seeds, ground finely, can be added to salt and other spices. Equal parts when just mixed with salt.
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DISCLAIMER: The information provided in this newsletter is for informational purposes only and does not constitute medical advice. Always consult a medical doctor with medical questions and before trying new treatments.
Sources:
A Clinical Materia Medica, Jeremy Ross
Herbal ABC’s, The Foundation of Herbal Medicine, Dr. Sharol M. Tilgner
The Natural Physician’s Healing Therapies, Mark Stengler, ND
Peterson’s Field Guide to Medicinal Plants & Herbs, Steven Foster & James A. Duke
https://www.eattheweeds.com