Milk thistle

Milk thistle, Silybum marianum, is an annual or biennial plant belonging to the family Asteraceae and the subfamily Carduoideae and grows 60 - 150 cm high. Distribution mainly in Europe, North and South America and in South Australia. Purple basket flowers from June to September, whitish spotted and marbled leaves on the lower part of the stems. Brown-spotted fruits with shiny white pappus as flight organ. The fruits(Silybi marianae fructus) are used for herbal medicines.

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 antiphlogistically and antifibrotically effective milk thistle fruits, which contain the efficacy determining flavonoid drugs Silybin A and B. Milk thistle is used as a liver protection preparation. In dermatology, for example, as concomitant medication to retinoids or methotrexate.

Cosmetics: Silybum mariunum fruit extract is the fruit extract of the plant which is used in cosmetic formulations.