En ganske interesant plante 
Hele planten skulle være ganske fremragende til at beskytte leveren mod alkoholskader og andre forgiftninger.
Og frøene indeholder et ekstra effektivt stof kaldet Silymarin, som bl.a. skulle kunne bruges til forebyggelse og behandling af leverskader, og som modgift ved forgiftninger forårsaget af fluesvampe!.
http://www.diet-and-health.net/Naturopa ... istle.html
Citat: Milk Thistle - Silybum marianum
Other Common Names: Blessed Milk-thistle, Cardo Mariano, Holy Thistle, Kanger, Kenger, Ku'Ub, Lady's Thistle, Maria-Azami, Meryemanadikeni, St Mary's Milk Thistle, Thistle, Variegated Thistle, Silybum marianum
Range: S. Europe, N. Africa and W. Asia.
Habitat: Waste places, usually close to the sea, especially if the ground is dry and rocky.
The Marian, or Milk Thistle, is perhaps the most important medicinally among the members of this genus, to which all botanists do not, however, assign it, naming it Silybum Marianum.
Westmacott, writing in 1694, says of this Thistle:
'It is a Friend to the Liver and Blood: the prickles cut off, they were formerly used to be boiled in the Spring and eaten with other herbs; but as the World decays, so doth the Use of good old things and others more delicate and less virtuous brought in.'
There is a tradition that the milk-white veins of the leaves originated in the milk of the Virgin which once fell upon a plant of Thistle, hence it was called Our Lady's Thistle, and the Latin name of the species has the same derivation.
Milk thistle has a long history of use in the West as a remedy for depression and liver problems. Recent research has confirmed that it has a remarkable ability to protect the liver from damage resulting from alcoholic and other types of poisoning. The whole plant is astringent, bitter, cholagogue, diaphoretic, diuretic, emetic, emmenagogue, hepatic, stimulant, stomachic and tonic. It is used internally in the treatment of liver and gall bladder diseases, jaundice, cirrhosis, hepatitis and poisoning. The plant is harvested when in flower and dried for later use.
Silymarin, an extract from the seed, acts on the membranes of the liver cells preventing the entry of virus toxins and other toxic compounds and thus preventing damage to the cells. It also dramatically improves liver regeneration in hepatitis, cirrhosis, mushroom poisoning and other diseases of the liver. German research suggests that silybin (a flavonoid component of the seed) is clinically useful in the treatment of severe poisoning by Amanita mushrooms. Seed extracts are produced commercially in Europe. Regeneration of the liver is particularly important in the treatment of cancer since this disease is alwayscharacterized by a severely compromised and often partially destroyed liver.
The therapeutic effect of silymarin in all of these disorders has been confirmed by histological (biopsy), clinical and laboratory data. Silymarin is especially effective in the treatment and prevention of toxic chemical or alcohol induced liver damage.
The protective effect of silymarin against liver damage has been demonstrated in a number of experimental and clinical studies.
A homeopathic remedy is obtained from equal parts of the root and the seed with its hulls still attached. It is used in the treatment of liver and abdominal disorders.
The heads of this Thistle formerly were eaten, boiled, treated like those of the Artichoke.
Known Hazards: When grown on nitrogen rich soils, especially those that have been fed with chemical fertilizers, this plant can concentrate nitrates in the leaves. Nitrates are implicated in stomach cancers.
- Grieve. M. A Modern Herbal. Penguin 1984 ISBN 0-14-046-440-9
- Hikino, H. Kiso, Y., Wagner, H. and Fiegig, M., "Antihepatotoxic actions of flavonolignans from Silybum marianum fruits", Planta Medica, 1984, 50, pp248-50
- Salmi, H.A., and Sarna, S., "Effect of silymarin on chemical, functional, and morphological alteration of the liver. A double-blind controlled study" Scand.J.Gastroenterol., 1982, 17, pp 417-21
- Vogel, G., Trost, W., Braatz, R., et al., "Studies on pharmacodynamics, site and mechanism of action of silymarin the antihpatotoxic principle from Silybum marianum (L.) Gaert"., Arzneim-Forsch, 1975, 25, pp 179-85
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). Har også prøvet at tage dem dagen efter, det virker også, men ikke helt så kraftigt.
