The Therapeutic Potential of Milk Thistle in Diabetes

Abstract

■ AbstractMilk thistle has been known for more than 2.000 years as a herbal remedy for a variety of disorders. It has mainly been used to treat liver and gallbladder diseases. Silibum marianum, the Latin term for the plant, and its seeds contain a whole family of natural compounds, called flavonolignans. Silimarin is a dry mixture of these compounds; it is extracted after processing with ethanol, methanol, and acetone. Silimarin contains mainly silibin A, silibin B, taxifolin, isosilibin A, isosilibin B, silichristin A, silidianin, and other compounds in smaller concentrations. Apart from its use in liver and gallbladder disorders, milk thistle has recently gained attention due to its hypoglycemic and hypolipidemic properties. Recently, a substance from milk thistle has been shown to possess peroxisome proliferator-activated receptor γ (PPARγ) agonist properties. PPARγ is the molecular target of thiazolidinediones, which are used clinically as insulin sensitizers to lower blood glucose levels in diabetes type 2 patients. The thiazolidinedione type of PPARγ ligands is an agonist with a very high binding affinity. However, this ligand type demonstrates a range of undesirable side effects, thus necessitating the search for new effective PPARγ agonists. Interestingly, studies indicate that partial agonism of PPARγ induces promising activity patterns by retaining the positive effects attributed to the full agonists, with reduced side effects. In this review, the therapeutic potential of milk thistle in the management of diabetes and its complications are discussed.

Chemical and Biological Aspects of Extracts from Medicinal Plants with Antidiabetic Effects

“…Some flavonoids such as rutin, quercetin (Figure 2A), isoorientin, 3-caffeoylquinic acid (chlorogenic acid), and silibin isoform 3 (obtained of milk thistle) have hypoglycemic properties [63][64][65][66][67].…”

Coadjuvants in the Diabetic Complications: Nutraceuticals and Drugs with Pleiotropic Effects

“…Although silymarin has mainly been used to treat liver diseases [143], its antidiabetic activity was recently reported and is associated with an anti-glycation profile [144,145], inhibition of aldose reductase [143], partial agonist activity in peroxisome proliferator-activated receptor γ (PPARγ) [143], antioxidant capacity and radical scavenging [144,146]. All these characteristics make silymarin an interesting candidate for the prevention and treatment of diabetic complications, which has recently been demonstrated both in experimental models and in humans (the same as for quercetin and resveratrol).…”

The effect of resveratrol on the histologic characteristics of the cochlea in diabetic rats

“…4,5 A literature review revealed that various antioxidants were used in diabetes-associated nephrotoxicity and neurotoxicity. 6,7 In addition, antioxidant agents were used in many studies with cisplatin-, vancomycin-, aminoglycoside-, and acoustic-trauma-induced ototoxicity. However, studies on agents for cochlear damage due to diabetes were inadequate.…”