Milk thistle extract suppresses liver cancer.Silibinin, a flavonoid derived from milk thistle, demonstrates potent activity against human liver cancer Liver Cancer Definition Liver cancer is a relatively rare form of cancer but has a high mortality rate. Liver cancers can be classified into two types. in the laboratory, according to a recent report from scientists at the University of California The University of California has a combined student body of more than 191,000 students, over 1,340,000 living alumni, and a combined systemwide and campus endowment of just over $7.3 billion (8th largest in the United States). , Irvine. (1) Milk thistle (Silybum marianum Silybum marianum, n See thistle, milk. Silybum marianum plant member of the family Asteraceae; has a very high feed value but a high nitrate content. May cause nitrate-nitrite poisoning in ruminants. ) contains silibinin and silymarin--highly bioactive compounds credited with protecting the liver against a variety of insults, such as drug or alcoholrelated damage. Silibinin also protects against a variety of other cancers, including prostate, breast, ovary ovary, ductless gland of the female in which the ova (female reproductive cells) are produced. In vertebrate animals the ovary also secretes the sex hormones estrogen and progesterone, which control the development of the sexual organs and the secondary sexual , colon, lung, and bladder carcinomas. (2, 3) The present study may be the first, however, to demonstrate silibinin's potent chemopreventive activity against a variety of liver cancer cell lines. Its anticancer effects included reducing cancer cell proliferation and suppressing cell cycle progression, increasing apoptosis (programmed death of cancer cells), and altering the chromatin chromatin: see chromosome. structure of cancer cells. Liver cancer is on the rise in the United States; (4) silibinin may offer protection against this insidious threat. Reference (1.) Lah JJ, Cui W, Hu KQ. Effects and mechanisms of silibinin on human hepatoma hepatoma /hep·a·to·ma/ (hep?ah-to´mah) 1. a tumor of the liver. 2. hepatocellular carcinoma (malignant h.). hep·a·to·ma n. pl. cell lines. World J Gastroenterol. 2007 Oct 28;13(40):5299-305. (2.) Gazak R, Walterova D, Kren V. Silybin and silymarin--new and emerging applications in medicine. Curr Med Chem. 2007;14(3):315-38. (3.) Agarwal R, Agarwal C, Ichikawa H, Singh RP, Aggarwal BB. Anticancer potential of silymarin: from bench to bed side. Anticancer Res. 2006 Nov-Dec;26(6B):4457-98. (4.) El-Serag HB, Mason AC. Rising incidence of hepatocellular carcinoma in the United States. N Engl J Med. 1999 Mar 11;340(10):745-50. |
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