Milk thistle
Milk thistle is Silybum marianum, a thistle grown mainly in Europe, China and Argentina for its seed-like fruits. The fruits are defatted and extracted with solvents such as acetone, ethyl acetate or ethanol to give silymarin, a mix of flavonolignans including silybin. Brands mostly buy extract standardized to silymarin; seed powder and cold-pressed seed oil are also sold.
Suppliers sell different products under the same name. Specify the one you need.
Dry extract of the fruit sold on a percentage of silymarin. Specs often state 70 to 80% silymarin, and the assay method must be named because UV and HPLC give different numbers.
Extracts enriched in silybin, or silybin bound to phosphatidylcholine, sold as branded ingredients for capsules.
Ground whole or defatted fruit, unstandardized, used in teas and food powders.
Cold-pressed oil from the fruit, sold as a food and cosmetic oil.
Compare each result with your own specification when the lot arrives.
Store extract and seed powder sealed, cool, dry and away from light. Seed oil and full-fat seed powder can go rancid, so keep them in closed, filled containers. Shelf life or retest date comes from the supplier.
Silymarin percentage and its make-up vary by lot and by extraction process. Record the assay method alongside the result so lots are compared on the same basis.
Facts from regulators and standards bodies, each linked to its source.
Health Canada's natural health product monograph for milk thistle lists the dried fruit (seed) of Silybum marianum as the source material.
Source: webprod.hc-sc.gc.ca (opens in a new tab)The EU Novel Food status Catalogue (entry POL-NF-00695) lists the aerial parts and an acetone extract of the fruit containing 70 to 80% silymarin as not novel in food supplements, and the seed oil as not novel in food.
Source: ec.europa.eu (opens in a new tab)This is general information, not regulatory advice. Status differs by country and by how the ingredient is used, so check the rules for your product and market.
Manufacturers and distributors whose own websites say they sell it.
Manufacturer · Mollet del Vallès, Spain
Sells it as Silactive
Euromed is a Spanish producer of standardized botanical extracts for pharmaceutical, supplement, food and cosmetic companies, with plants near Barcelona and in Murcia. It is part of the Dermapharm Group.
Distributor · Sacramento, CA
Starwest Botanicals is a Sacramento company that mills and sells bulk organic herbs, spices, teas and botanical powders by the pound and in 25 lb bags, with wholesale accounts for businesses.
Suppliers are in alphabetical order and none pays to appear. Each claim is checked against the supplier’s own website on the date shown. Ask for the specification sheet and a recent COA before you order, and confirm details with the supplier.
Common forms include standardized extract, silybin-enriched and complexed forms, seed powder and seed oil. Ask each supplier for the specification sheet of the exact grade they quote.
Expect identity (HPTLC or HPLC fingerprint), silymarin assay, residual solvents, heavy metals, microbiology and mycotoxins and loss on drying, each with its method, specification and result for that lot.
Store extract and seed powder sealed, cool, dry and away from light. Seed oil and full-fat seed powder can go rancid, so keep them in closed, filled containers. Shelf life or retest date comes from the supplier.
Health Canada's natural health product monograph for milk thistle lists the dried fruit (seed) of Silybum marianum as the source material. The EU Novel Food status Catalogue (entry POL-NF-00695) lists the aerial parts and an acetone extract of the fruit containing 70 to 80% silymarin as not novel in food supplements, and the seed oil as not novel in food.
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