Milk thistle

Milk thistle, Silybum marianum, is an annual or biennial plant that belongs to the Asteraceae family and the Carduoideae subfamily and grows to a height of 60 - 150 cm. It is mainly found in Europe, North and South America and South Australia. Purple-red basket flowers from June to September, whitish spotted and marbled leaves on the lower part of the stems. Brown-spotted fruits with a shiny white pappus as a flying organ.

The fruits(Silybi marianae fructus) and marian thistle herb(Cardui mariae herba) are used phytotherapeutically.

The cosmetics industry uses Silybum marinum fruit extract (INCI) and Silybum marinum extract (INCI).

Milk thistle is a one- to two-year-old plant with a growth height of between 20 and 150 cm. The elongated to elliptical leaves of the Milk Thistle have a length of between 25 and 50 cm and are between 12 and 25 cm wide with spines up to 8 mm long at the edges. The crown of the plant is purple in colour and bears 6 to 8 fruits. The fruits of the milk thistle are used medicinally.

Naturopathy: Milk thistle is the parent plant of Silybi mariani fructus, the antiphlogistic and antifibrotic milk thistle fruit, which contains the flavonoid drugs silybin A and B that determine its effectiveness. Milk thistle is used as a liver protection preparation. In dermatology, for example, as an accompanying medication to retinoids or methotrexate.

Cosmetics: Silybum marinum fruit extract is the fruit extract of the plant, which is used in cosmetic formulations, as is Silybum marinum extract (INCI).

1. https://arzneipflanzenlexikon.info/mariendistel.php
2. https://pflanzen.fnr.de/industriepflanzen/arzneipflanzen/pflanzen-datenbank

3. Blaschek W (2015) Wichtl tea drugs and phytopharmaceuticals. A handbook for practitioners. Wissenschaftliche Verlagsgesellschaft Munich. S 149-150