Compound or practice · Supplement
Milk Thistle (Silymarin)
A liver botanical with plausible mechanisms and disappointingly inconsistent hard outcomes.
- Overall grade
- Grade C
- Last revised
- 2
- graded outcomes
- 0
- references listed
A structured monograph in Prometheus's bundled library. Its grades are the monograph's own reading of the evidence, not a peer-reviewed review.
2 at grade C — 2 graded rows
What is known
Each outcome with its grade (how strong the evidence is, A to D), the size of the effect where the entry records one, and how often studies agree.
- Liver enzymesEvidence grade C
Sometimes improved
Smallmixed
- Glycemic control (diabetes)Evidence grade C
Modest
Smallmixed
What is uncertain
Read off the same rows as above. Nothing here is added that the entry does not itself record.
- Thin evidence: Liver enzymes (grade C); Glycemic control (diabetes) (grade C).
The evidence in words
What it is
Milk thistle supplies silymarin, a flavonolignan complex traditionally used for liver support.
How it works
Silymarin is antioxidant and appears to stabilize hepatocyte membranes and support regeneration, with anti-inflammatory activity.
What the evidence shows
Despite coherent mechanisms, trials in viral hepatitis, alcoholic and non-alcoholic liver disease are inconsistent and often null for hard endpoints, though liver enzymes sometimes improve. It may have modest glycemic benefit in diabetes. Safe, popular, and weakly supported.
How to use it
200–400 mg silymarin daily if used; it is an adjunct, not a treatment.
Safety & interactions
Very safe; occasional GI upset. Not a substitute for medical care in liver disease.
Bottom line
Benign and popular but underwhelming on hard outcomes. Fine as an adjunct; not a reason to skip real liver care.
How it is used
As the entry records it, from the studies it summarises. Not a recommendation for you — doses that suit a trial population may not suit you.
- Standard
- 200–400 mg silymarin daily.
Related reading
Entries that share this one's tags or conditions.
- GlutathioneThe master antioxidant — better raised by making it (NAC, glycine) than by swallowing it, though liposomal forms help.Evidence grade C
- Glutathione for Fatty liver markersEvidence grade C — ModestEvidence grade C
- Glutathione for Oxidative stress markersEvidence grade C — Raised storesEvidence grade C
- Glutathione: dosage and how to take it250–1,000 mg/day liposomal, or NAC+glycine.Evidence grade C
Sources
This entry lists no references of its own.
Last revised . A grade is this entry's reading of the evidence, not medical advice.