Milk Thistle Effects, Dosage, and Side Effects Cardui mariae; Carduus marianum; Holy Thistle; Lady's Thistle; Legalon; Marian Thistle; Mariendistel; Mary Thistle; Our Lady's Thistle; Silimarina; Silybin; Silybum marianum; Silymarin; St. Mary Thistle; St. Mary's Thistle

Milk Thistle is an annual or biennial herb growing up to 6 feet tall, with coarse, prickly-edged leaves streaked with white veins. Flowers are crimson to reddish-violet and grow in solitary globular heads 2 inches across.

From the ancient Greek healers to modern European physicians, over 2000 years of use makes Milk Thistle one of the most consistently effective medicinal herbs on the globe. And with its ability to defend and rebuild the health of the liver, Milk Thistle is poised for a future as blessed as its past.

Milk Thistle yields three main active compounds known collectively as Silymarin, which work in a number of ways to restore liver health. Firstly, Silymarin inhibits the factors responsible for causing liver damage. As well, it increases the liver''s content of a substance called glutathione which is responsible for detoxifying many chemicals, drugs and hormones. Silymarin also stimulates the growth of new liver cells so that damaged areas of the liver may be regenerated.