Silybum marianum

Milk thistle ( Silybum marianum )

Milk thistle ( Silybum marianum ), also known by the name of Christ crown, thunder thistle, thistle fever, Mrs. Thistle, Saviour thistle, Silybum grains or grains piercing known is a plant that belongs to the subfamily of Carduoideae. The name of milk thistle comes from an old legend of the white spots on their leaves come from the milk of the Virgin Mary.

Description

The milk thistle is a one-to two perennial plant that reaches a height of 20 to 150 cm. The bald or slightly spinnwebig Fluffy, green stem is usually branched and wingless. The basal leaves are 25-50 cm long and 12-25 cm wide, oblong to elliptic, sinuate pinnatifid, petiolate, glabrous or glabrous, white blotchy, shiny, on the edge with yellowish- white, up to 8 mm long thorns. The stem leaves are smaller, less deeply divided at the base, auriculate - amplexicaul and sitting.

The baskets are 4-5 cm long and appear singly on long, erect, sometimes occupied with a few small bracts stems. The bracts have an 8 to 15 mm long and 6-10 mm wide, spiny toothed appendage, which expires in a 2 to 5 centimeters long, strong, recurved, rinnigen mandrel. The purple crown is deep fünfspaltig. The 6 to 8 × 2.5 to 4 cm Achänenfrüchte are shiny black with gray spots and wear at the top of a 15 to 20 mm long pappus. They weigh an average of 32.4 mg.

The chromosome number is 2n = 34

Occurrence

The milk thistle is common in the Mediterranean, but it also occurs on the Canary Islands, the Azores and Madeira and stretches east to southern Russia and Iran. In Central Europe it is in some wild inconstant. It is naturalized in North and South America, and in South Australia as an invasive plant.

As a location path sides as Waste places, roadsides, pastures are preferred over mostly dry, rocky soils.

Use

Cultivation and harvesting

For medical use milk thistle is in large fields in Austria ( Waldviertel ), Hungary, Germany cultivated (Westerwald ), Argentina, Venezuela and China. The fruits ripen in August and then raked ( = cut and filed ) and harvested after a few days with conventional combines. In some countries, the direct threshing is widespread. After harvesting, the cleaning of the fruit takes place.

Medical Application

The active ingredient complex of silibinin to liver- protective ( hepatoprotektiv ), liver tonic, detoxifying and bile flow and circulation stimulating effect.

Liver poisoning ( for example, by eating death cap mushrooms caused ) and cerebral edema can with silybin ( silibinin synonymous, silymarin I), which is obtained from the fruit of the thistle, are treated. Silymarin is to change the structure of the outer cell membrane of the hepatocytes, such that liver toxins can not penetrate into the cell interior. They act as free radical scavengers to stabilize and protect the hepatocytes by inhibiting membrane lipid oxidation. Furthermore inhibits silychristin ( syn. silymarin II) peroxidase and lipoxygenase. Silymarin to stimulate the activity of nucleolar polymerase A, such that it comes to increase in ribosomal protein synthesis. This is to the regeneration of the liver is increased.

Other active ingredients of the plant are: bitter compounds, biogenic amines, tannins, dyes, in a small proportion also essential oils, sharp unknown substances and resins.

Other applications: biliousness, dyspepsia, migraine, motion sickness, possibly trigeminal neuralgia, varicose veins, portal congestion.

Milk thistle fruits are also used in farm animal feeding, which here is mainly the liver therapeutic effect in the foreground.

Recent research results

Scientists from the Cancer Center at Colorado State University in 2011 published a study according to which the supply of milk thistle slowed the growth of lung cancer in mice. Furthermore, the substance silibinin prevents the penetration of cancer cells to other tissues, and is therefore more effective than current medicines.

Pictures

Fruiting plant

Basal leaves

Stem Leaf

Fruits

Cultivation