Milk Thistle
Milk thistle (Sylbum marianum) is an annual or biennial plant that grows in dry, rocky soil in the U.S. and Europe.
Uses:
- Milk thistle helps remove toxins, including the remains of drugs, from the liver. Studies have shown better survival rates in people with liver poisoning when milk thistle was used. Some studies have shown that milk thistle may help people with hepatitis, alcoholic liver disease, or cirrhosis, though others have not shown a benefit.
Forms: Capsules
Cautions
- If you have any kidney function, use milk thistle only under a doctor's care. If toxins cleared from the liver are removed by the kidneys instead, this may overstress the kidneys.
- Milk thistle can make transplant immunosuppressant drugs less effective. If you have a transplant, do not take milk thistle. Milk thistle may interact with as many as half of all other drugs, too.
- Allergy to milk thistle may cause a rash or stomach upset.
