Health Hotline Magazine | October 2025

Supreme Antioxidant Power The main bioactive compound in milk thistle responsible for its health benefits is silymarin, a complex of flavonoid compounds that include silybin, silychristin, and isosilycristin, among others (for simplicity, we will just call it silymarin). These compounds—primarily found in the seeds—have significant antioxidant activity, which is where milk thistle really shines. Indeed, it is its antioxidant power that researchers recognize as the key to milk thistle’s health benefits, in everything from liver and metabolic health to brain and joint health. Specifically, silymarin has been shown to increase levels of superoxide dismutase (SOD) and glutathione peroxidase, powerful enzymes that play a crucial role in protecting cells from oxidative damage by neutralizing reactive oxygen species (ROS). It has also been found to significantly reduce markers of lipid (fat) oxidation in the cells. In simple terms, silymarin enhances whole-body antioxidant defenses and reduces the oxidation of cells. Why is antioxidant protection so important? Free radicals, like ROS, damage cellular membranes, interfering with their proper functioning; an excessive amount of oxidative damage is the underlying cause of a number of chronic diseases and health issues. Antioxidants protect cells from damage, keeping them healthy and functioning as they should.

Love Your Liver with Milk Thistle

And Your Skin Will Bene t Too! A happy side e ect of taking milk thistle to support your liver’s best health is clear, healthy skin. How well (or poorly) the liver is working is often reflected in our skin— when liver function is compromised, it can manifest as skin issues. By supporting liver function and balanced detoxification, silymarin indirectly promotes healthy skin. It can also directly support skin health with its antioxidant and anti-inflammatory potential, particularly against environmental stressors like UV radiation, which increases free radical production and inflammation, leading to accelerated skin aging, reduced elasticity, and hyperpigmentation. In vitro models have shown that silymarin treatment reduces free radical production and inflammation in UV-stressed human skin cells and inhibits collagen and elastin-degrading enzymes and a recent human study found that silymarin is e ective in improving acne. The clinical trial, including 60 subjects with acne, looked at the e cacy of oral silymarin compared to a common prescription drug for acne, doxycycline. The participants were divided into three groups: group one supplemented with 140mg of silymarin daily, group two took 100mg of doxycycline daily, and group three took both the silymarin and doxycycline daily, all for eight weeks. While the final results showed that the combination therapy had the greatest benefit, taking silymarin alone was comparable to doxycycline alone in improving acne lesions.

The liver is one of the hardest working organs in the human body and is key to many vital functions, including nutrient storage, digestion and metabolism, regulating blood sugar, hormone production, and of course, detoxification. But our livers are struggling—rates of chronic liver disease and deaths from it are rising, especially among young adults; this includes both alcoholic fatty liver disease as well as non-alcoholic fatty liver disease (NAFLD). NAFLD is also the most common liver disease in children, and due to childhood obesity, is a growing problem. There has never been a better time to love your liver, and milk thistle is the perfect place to start. Chronic liver diseases have an underlying component of oxidative stress and silymarin provides the liver with potent antioxidant protection, directly and indirectly: it neutralizes free radicals directly but it also boosts the body’s own defenses by increasing antioxidant enzymes, like glutathione, in the liver. Silymarin is particularly important for neutralizing the toxic by-products that are formed during detoxification, which, if left to accumulate, can lead to serious inflammation and oxidative damage to the liver. Research has shown that it also improves liver regeneration, reduces inflammation and fat buildup, and inhibits the formation of tough, fibrous tissue (fibrogenesis) that is a hallmark of liver disease. A 2024 study investigated the e ect of silymarin-supplemented cookies on markers of liver and metabolic health in 64 patients with NAFLD. Participants were divided into four groups: placebo and three treatment groups that received a total of either 200mg, 300mg, or 400mg of silymarin daily for three months. Markers of liver damage and inflammation as well as metabolic health were measured at the beginning of the study and after three months. The researchers saw a significant reduction in liver enzymes (elevated levels indicate liver damage or disease) and inflammatory markers in those taking the silymarin. Additionally, the patients taking the silymarin saw an increase in HDL cholesterol and significant decreases in LDL cholesterol and triglyceride levels after three months, indicating improved cardio-metabolic health. The best improvements were observed in the groups taking 300mg or 400mg daily.

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