With the continuous improvement of health awareness, the traditional Chinese medicine milk thistle has gradually attracted people's attention and discussion. So, is it a magic medicine for liver protection or a consumer trap? Let's find out!
With the continuous improvement of health awareness, the traditional Chinese medicine milk thistle has gradually attracted people's attention and discussion. So, is it a magic medicine for liver protection or a consumer trap? Let's find out!
Milk thistle (Silybum marianum), a herbaceous plant from the Asteraceae family, is also known as milk thistle and milk thistle. It is spread throughout many provinces in northern my country with its excellent adaptability. The medicinal history of silymarin can be traced back to ancient Greece, when it was used to treat jaundice. The ancient Chinese book "Xinhua Materia Medica Outline" records: "It has the function of detoxification. It is used for jaundice, cirrhosis, hepatomegaly and other liver diseases, gallstones." Early research at home and abroad has established its position in modern medicine.
Modern medicine continues to deepen its research on milk thistle, making the medical value of silymarin, the active ingredient of milk thistle, increasingly prominent. Silymarin is the core component of milk thistle extract, mainly silybin, which accounts for 60% to 70% of the total silymarin. Because of its rich content and highest biological activity, silybin has attracted much attention in the field of research and application.
At present, silymarin and its derivatives have been widely used in liver protection drugs due to their excellent liver protection effect, such as Ligaron, Silymarin Tablets and Silibinan, etc., providing patients with strong supportive treatment options to help them cope with the challenges brought by liver disease.
As an outstanding representative of "medicine and food are of the same origin", silymarin is widely popular in the field of health care products and has almost become synonymous with liver protection. However, with the continuous increase in its attention, people have also begun to question the actual effect, safety and applicability of health care products containing milk thistle. So is this an IQ tax?
In this regard, relevant studies have confirmed the medical value of milk thistle from different angles!
1. Liver fibrosis is an abnormal proliferation of liver connective tissue. It can occur in the repair and healing process of any liver injury and is an inevitable product of liver injury and chronic inflammation.
In the model mice with ethanol-induced liver fibrosis, it was found that silybin treatment can regulate the Wnt/β-catenin signaling pathway and reduce the levels of hyaluronic acid, laminin, alanine aminotransferase and hydroxyproline in mouse serum. This treatment can reduce the damage to liver cells and reverse the process of liver fibrosis.
2. Non-alcoholic fatty liver disease is a common chronic liver disease and one of the important causes of liver fibrosis, hepatitis and cirrhosis.
Studies have shown that silybin has a good effect on counteracting lipid accumulation and lipid peroxidation caused by FFA in HepG2 cells. The anti-lipid accumulation and anti-lipid peroxidation effects of silybin in HepG2 cells are mainly related to its activation of the NRF2 signaling pathway, upregulation of FXR and SHP protein expression, and then inhibition of LXRa activation and nuclear translocation and downregulation of fatty acid uptake gene CD36 expression.
3. Alcoholic liver disease is mainly a liver damage disease caused by long-term and large-scale drinking of ethanol-containing beverages, which can further develop into alcoholic hepatitis, liver fibrosis and cirrhosis.
In the study, a model of alcoholic liver disease was established by gavage of SD rats with ethanol. The results showed that the combination of captopril and silybin can significantly reduce the levels of aspartate aminotransferase, alanine aminotransferase, low-density lipoprotein, NF-κB and tumor necrosis factor α (TNF-α) in rat plasma, while increasing the content of high-density lipoprotein cholesterol. This shows that the combination has a significant therapeutic effect on rats with alcoholic liver disease.
From this point of view, scientific research has confirmed that silymarin has a significant protective effect on the liver, can reduce the burden on the liver, promote liver cell repair and regeneration, and thus play a positive role in a variety of liver problems.
Therefore, liver protection products have a certain protective and preventive effect on the human liver. The product of Chinese medical research, "Ligan Jianghuang Drink", uses silybin as the core ingredient, and at the same time combines the blood circulation and stasis removal effects of turmeric, the alcohol detoxification and liver protection effects of Pueraria root, and the liver and kidney nourishing function of Polygonatum sibiricum. These ingredients work together with silybin to create a comprehensive liver protection system. Its unique formula design makes this product an ideal choice for modern people pursuing a healthy life.
