The potential of silymarin for the treatment of hepatic disorders

Abstract

Silymarin has long been used as a hepatoprotective remedy. Chronic toxicity studies in rodents have confirmed that silymarin has a very low toxicity. These data support its history as a safe medication in hepatic diseases. In the last years, several studies expanded our understanding of the pharmacology of silymarin and its molecular mechanisms of action. These new insights may affect the handling of silymarin in clinical studies and daily practice. Additionally, scientific knowledge in hepatology is constantly evolving with, particularly, an increase in the field of non-alcoholic fatty liver disease which is considered today as the most frequent liver disease worldwide. In this review, we will describe scientific evidence for the effectiveness of silymarin in hepatic disorders. We will focus on silymarin's pharmacological effects in non-alcoholic fatty liver disease and on its well described effects in alcoholic liver disease and acute intoxications, e.g. with Amanita species. We will discuss the relevance of pharmacological data as a function of doses or concentrations required for a given effect and of concentrations achieved in the target tissues. Many pharmacological effects of silymarin can be attributed to effects downstream or upstream of its antioxidative and membrane-stabilizing properties. However, despite promising new experimental and clinical data further clinical studies are required including long-term observations and the application of hard clinical endpoints such as survival rates, to further support silymarin's use for the treatment of hepatic diseases.

Isolation and Quantification of Phenolic Compounds in Acer tegmentosum by High Performance Liquid Chromatography

“…The HPLC chromatograms of the three different extracts prepared from branches, stem barks, and stems were compared in Figure 3, displaying differences in the composition ratio of the marker compounds between the (6), and 4.61 mg/g of scopoletin (7), showing higher values relative to those of the stem bark and stem extracts ( Table 3).…”

“…Active constituents of silymarin are flavonoids and polyphenols, which serve as scavengers of free radicals to protect the liver from oxidative stress, such as drug and alcohol‐induced hepatotoxicity . Furthermore, silymarin displays membrane stabilizing activity, promoting hepatocyte regeneration . Accordingly, the Korean Ministry of Food and Drug Safety (MFDS) approved the extract of S. marianum as health functional food—dietary product containing one or more components beneficial for human health—in 2008…”

“…[3][4][5] Furthermore, silymarin displays membrane stabilizing activity, promoting hepatocyte regeneration. 4,6 Accordingly, the Korean Ministry of Food and Drug Safety (MFDS) approved the extract of S. marianum as health functional food-dietary product containing one or more components beneficial for human health-in 2008. 7 In September 2014, Acer tegmentosum (family: Aceraceae) was temporarily approved as a food material by MFDS.…”

Preparation of modified chitosan - Amino acid nanoparticles

“…Another favorable position that makes chitosan better than other polysaccharide polymers is the simplicity of synthetic alterations in the structure, particularly in the C-2 position, which gives subsidiaries distinctive attributes, with potential use in various applications (Hou et al, 2015). Pharmaceutically, chitosan-based polymeric medication bearers have been effectively used in the conveyance of anticancer operators, proteins/peptides, development components, anti-infection agents, mitigating and different medications, and a technique in both antibody conveyance and quality therapy (Dwivedi et al, 2016;Hellerbrand et al, 2017).…”

Hepatic Encephalopathy in Malaria or Artesunate Toxicity: A Dilemma in Diagnosis

“…5 Hepatic encephalopathy regimen was started with the addition of ampicillin 100 mg/kg/d, silymarin 10 mg/kg/d. 6,7 IV fluids were changed to 10% dextrose normal saline kept at 3/4th maintenance. Ryle tube was inserted and secretions aspirated every 4 hours.…”