Milk thistle's path from a traditional healer to a modern medicine

            

            Humanity has, during the course of events, managed to improve medical approach to many diseases and prolonged the human life and even doubled it. And the famous start with medicinal plants advanced towards the synthetic chemistry and medicine, but lately medicinal plants have again been introduced as a remedy which is essential to people’s health. Among the many herbs, milk thistle has proven to have numerous uses and could simply be called a miracle when it comes to diseases and states which can be cured.

            This amazing field plant has found its use in modern medicine and is becoming more and more popular each day. In herbalism, it is used as a remedy for various liver diseases including jaundice, hepatitis and cirrhosis, then for gallbladder diseases and is generally known as a liver antitoxin. Its components have hepatoprotective, antioxidant and other effects which are making this plant gain its popularity again. 

            The extract of milk thistle has antifungal effects, and can be used as an antidepressant in the treatment of obsessive-compulsive disorder. Other significant uses include lowering cholesterol levels which could be utilized in the treatment of obesity, then it could reduce insulin resistance in diabetes type 2, especially with people who have cirrhosis. Potential use could be found in cancer treatment, because certain studies have found that it is reducing the growth of malignant cells in cervical, prostate and breast cancers. Because of its hepatoprotective effects, clinical study has shown that in active hepatitis patients, milk thistle can have liver function improved.

            Another interesting fact about milk thistle is that, along with other plant extracts, can be used as a hangover cure. This means that the preparation of this plant can help organs rid of toxins after heavy drinking and that it can eliminate alcohol more quickly from a body. If the liver cells get damaged during the chronic use of alcohol, milk thistle can regenerate liver cells. Regenerated liver cells prevent further hepatic failure and later cirrhosis and hepatitis which might occur in the patients who have alcohol history.

            As an antitoxin plant, milk thistle is a good antioxidant. This meant that it removes dangerous oxygen radicals from your body, preventing future cancerous events. It is similar to antioxidants such are vitamin C, green tea and berry’s family. Its component silibinin is used against the poisoning by Amanita phalloides, a mushroom which is very poisonous. It is unbelievable how a plant can have so many functions in medicine, and milk thistle is just a good example how nature is willing to cure us.

            Maybe we, the people, are ready to turn towards the nature again and accept the remedies which our ancestors have used for centuries. Milk thistle is an astonishing herb with so many possibilities and it can be used to treat various diseases, even the deadly ones. Medicine has, by accepting milk thistle and similar herbs, not made a step back, but a step forward by embracing its roots, comprehending them and applying them to the modern society of people.