Milk thistle for inflammatory liver conditions

November 14, 2000

Hi,

I was diagnosed with PSC in November '99. I have read

quite a lot about the benefits of milk thistle in

protecting liver from toxins and also about its

stimulatory effect on liver cell regeneration. However, I

haven't seen many articles on the use of milk thistle for

autoimmune liver conditions. (I searched MEDLINE for

" silymarin and inflammatory " and " silymarin and

immune " and I didn't find any double-blind clinical

studies.) On the contrary, a recent study at Mayo Clinic

(Hepatology, November 2000, p. 897-900, Vol. 32, No. 5)

reported no benefit in combination therapy with Urso and

milk thistle in PBC patients. Could you please refer me

to specific information on the use of milk thistle for

autoimmune liver conditions?

The other question is how does milk thistle interact with

other drugs? There is almost no data in the literature

about the possible interactions of milk thistle with

other medications. Nonetheless, the active constituents of

milk thistle are known to some extent and thus one would

expect pharmacists and physicians to be able to make an

educated guess about the possible interactions. I was

wondering if your doctors and pharmacists have given you

any information in this regard. I'm currently on Urso

(1000 mg/day), Tofranil (50 mg/day), vitamin B complex

(amounts within RDA values), vitamin C (250 mg/day), and

vitamin E (100 IU/day). My specific concern is the

possible interaction of milk thistle and Tofranil.

Thanks in advance,

Al

P.S. I'm new to this newsgroup. Please forgive my

ignorance if these questions have already been

answered.

P.P.S. I don't receive e-mails from the list. Please

forward your replies to my address. Thanks.

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