Supplement
Antioxidant botanical for liver enzyme support.[1501,1615,1659, etc.]
Superscript reference numbers link to the Sources bibliography.
Composite Rating
Blends evidence depth, community direction, safety friction, and completeness.
Evidence Intensity
100/100
High depth from human/RCT/meta counts
Community Direction
18
Positive Lean • confidence Minimal
Safety Friction
100/100
High signal from adverse/interaction markers
Data Completeness
100%
Studies 15 • mentions 4 • links 25
Not medical advice. This product is for educational and informational purposes only. It does not diagnose, treat, cure, or prevent any disease and is not a substitute for professional medical advice, diagnosis, or treatment. Always seek the advice of a qualified healthcare provider with any questions regarding a medical condition.
FDA disclaimer: These statements have not been evaluated by the Food and Drug Administration. Dietary supplements are not intended to diagnose, treat, cure, or prevent any disease. Results may vary. Not intended for use by pregnant or nursing women, individuals under 18, or those with known medical conditions without physician consultation.
If you are experiencing a medical emergency, call 911 or your local emergency number immediately.
Goal alignment: Liver Support, Metabolic Health.[571,719,943, etc.]
Dose guide: Human-study daily dose: 1 mg-900 mg/day (higher-confidence extraction from PubMed abstracts)..[571,719,943, etc.]
Category
Botanical
Evidence Tier
HIGH
Daily Guide
Human-study daily dose: 1 mg-900 mg/day (higher-confidence extraction from PubMed abstracts).
Dosing Guide
Human-study daily dose: 1 mg-900 mg/day (higher-confidence extraction from PubMed abstracts).[1501,, etc.]
Clinical Depth
Humans: 112 • RCTs: 10 • Meta: 4
Cohort / Real-World
Cohort signals: 0
Safety Markers
Adverse signals: 172 • Interactions: 137
Freshness, trend, and study timeline for this item
Status
Trend
→ Stable evidence base
Depth
239 total studies · 3 recent
Timeline
In vitro / tissue
251
Total indexed
239
Animal-only studies
211
Safety adverse signals
172
Interaction signals
137
Human studies
112
Weighted direction score: 18 (Positive Lean)
High when >=2 human meta-analyses, or >=5 human RCTs with substantial human literature volume.
In vitro / tissue
251
Total indexed
239
Animal-only studies
211
Safety adverse signals
172
Interaction signals
137
Human studies
112
Randomized trials
10
Meta-analyses
4
Distribution of evidence by study design strength
Evidence Strength: High
Composite of study volume, RCTs, and meta-analyses
PMID 38579127 • 2024 Mar-Apr
Administration of silymarin in NAFLD/NASH: A systematic review and meta-analysis.
Ann Hepatol
Open PubMedPMID 12427501 • 2002 Oct 15
Milk thistle for the treatment of liver disease: a systematic review and meta-analysis.
Am J Med
Open PubMedPMID 21843614 • 2011 Oct 11
Meta-analysis of the effect of herbal supplement on glycemic control in type 2 diabetes.
J Ethnopharmacol
Open PubMedBenefit reports: 2
Adverse reports: 1
No-effect reports: 0
Mixed reports: 1
Unclear reports: 0
Signal confidence: 0.00
Benefits
Adverse
No Effect
Often used with alcohol reduction programs. | Step2: Insufficient empirical signal for a directional adjustment.
Reddit evidence: 0 mentions (confidence 0.00).
Amazon signal: 0 products scanned (confidence 0.00).
aggregate • benefit
Aggregate community signal: 4 directional mentions (benefit 2, adverse 1, no-effect 0, mixed 1).
Open mentionamazon
Amazon search for Milk Thistle (silymarin)
Rating: n/a | Reviews: n/a
Open productEvidence Sources
META_ANALYSIS • 2022 • Adults
Mixed liver condition cohorts.
Outcome: Possible small improvements in ALT/AST.[1501,1615,1659, etc.]
PUBMED • Humans + preclinical triage
Counts aggregated from automated literature sweep and tiering rules.
Outcome: Tier HIGH; humans 112, RCTs 10, meta-analyses 4.[1501,1615,1659, etc.]
Open sourcePMID 28785154 • 2017 Jul 21
Effect of silymarin on biochemical indicators in patients with liver disease: Systematic review with meta-analysis.
World J Gastroenterol
Open PubMedPMID 38750102 • 2024 May 15
Nutraceutical blends predict enhanced health via microbiota reshaping improving cytokines and life quality: a Brazilian double-blind randomized trial.
Sci Rep
Open PubMedPMID 38353101 • 2024 Oct
Adjunctive silymarin supplementation and its effects on disease severity, oxidative stress, and inflammation in patients with Alzheimer's disease.
Nutr Neurosci
Open PubMedPMID 29273470 • 2018 Jan
Relative Bioavailability of Silybin A and Silybin B From 2 Multiconstituent Dietary Supplement Formulations Containing Milk Thistle Extract: A Single-dose Study.
Clin Ther
Open PubMedPMID 16221754 • 2006 Jan
Effect of milk thistle (Silybum marianum) and black cohosh (Cimicifuga racemosa) supplementation on digoxin pharmacokinetics in humans.
Drug Metab Dispos
Open PubMedPMID 23885143 • 2013 Jul 21
Phytoestrogens/insoluble fibers and colonic estrogen receptor β: randomized, double-blind, placebo-controlled study.
World J Gastroenterol
Open PubMedPMID 15536458 • 2004 Nov
In vivo assessment of botanical supplementation on human cytochrome P450 phenotypes: Citrus aurantium, Echinacea purpurea, milk thistle, and saw palmetto.
Clin Pharmacol Ther
Open PubMedPMID 30080294 • 2018 Nov
Milk thistle (Silybum marianum): A concise overview on its chemistry, pharmacological, and nutraceutical uses in liver diseases.
Phytother Res
Open PubMedPMID 33302488 • 2020 Dec 8
Presence of Mycotoxins in Milk Thistle (Silybum marianum) Food Supplements: A Review.
Toxins (Basel)
Open PubMedPMID 35081820 • 2023
The effects of dietary supplements and natural products targeting glucose levels: an overview.
Crit Rev Food Sci Nutr
Open PubMedPMID 31633199 • 2020 Apr
CYP2C9-mediated warfarin and milk thistle interaction.
J Clin Pharm Ther
Open PubMedPMID 34968721 • 2022 Mar
Milk thistle (Silybum marianum (L.)Gaertn.): An overview about its pharmacology and medicinal uses with an emphasis on oral diseases.
J Oral Biosci
Open PubMedGNC signal: 0 products scanned (confidence 0.00) [BLOCKED].
PerimeterX / captcha block encountered.
Search fetch failed: Failed to fetch after retries: https://old.reddit.com/search.json?raw_json=1&sort=relevance&t=year&limit=12&q=%22milk%20thistle%22%20(supplement%20OR%20dosage%20OR%20stack%20OR%20side%20effects%20OR%20review)%20(subreddit%3ASupplements%20OR%20subreddit%3ANootropics%20OR%20subreddit%3ABiohackers%20OR%20subreddit%3Alongevity%20OR%20subreddit%3ANutrition%20OR%20subreddit%3AHubermanLab%20OR%20subreddit%3ASleep%20OR%20subreddit%3AFitness%20OR%20subreddit%3Aketoscience%20OR%20subreddit%3AStackAdvice)
Fallback search failed: Failed to fetch after retries: https://old.reddit.com/search.json?raw_json=1&sort=comments&t=all&limit=16&q=%22milk%20thistle%22%20(supplement%20OR%20capsule%20OR%20powder%20OR%20experience%20OR%20results%20OR%20side%20effects)
Broad search failed: Failed to fetch after retries: https://old.reddit.com/search.json?raw_json=1&sort=new&t=all&limit=16&q=milk%20thistle
Use adverse/interactions PubMed signal counts for screening; perform clinician review before high-dose or multi-drug stack use.
Human-study daily dose signal: 1 mg-900 mg/day (confidence HIGH).
Extracted from 5 dosing mentions across 1 PubMed studies (mg/day).
Imported legacy community score: 8.0/10 (heuristic mapping confidence 1.00).
Imported legacy monthly cost signal: ~$12.00.
Legacy community note: Very well-regarded for liver protection. Popular among alcohol consumers, those on medications, and general detox protocols. Users report improved liver enzyme numbers on bloodwork.
Community Sources
PUBMED • 2024 • Human evidence curation set
PMID 38579127 from Ann Hepatol.
Outcome: See linked PubMed abstract for methods and outcomes.[1501,1615,1659, etc.]
Open sourcePUBMED • 2002 • Human evidence curation set
PMID 12427501 from Am J Med.
Outcome: See linked PubMed abstract for methods and outcomes.[1501,1615,1659, etc.]
Open sourcePUBMED • 2011 • Human evidence curation set
PMID 21843614 from J Ethnopharmacol.
Outcome: See linked PubMed abstract for methods and outcomes.[1501,1615,1659, etc.]
Open sourcePUBMED • 2017 • Human evidence curation set
PMID 28785154 from World J Gastroenterol.
Outcome: See linked PubMed abstract for methods and outcomes.[1501,1615,1659, etc.]
Open sourcePUBMED • 2024 • Human evidence curation set
PMID 38750102 from Sci Rep.
Outcome: See linked PubMed abstract for methods and outcomes.[1501,1615,1659, etc.]
Open sourcePUBMED • 2024 • Human evidence curation set
PMID 38353101 from Nutr Neurosci.
Outcome: See linked PubMed abstract for methods and outcomes.[1501,1615,1659, etc.]
Open sourcePUBMED • 2018 • Human evidence curation set
PMID 29273470 from Clin Ther.
Outcome: See linked PubMed abstract for methods and outcomes.[1501,1615,1659, etc.]
Open sourcePUBMED • 2006 • Human evidence curation set
PMID 16221754 from Drug Metab Dispos.
Outcome: See linked PubMed abstract for methods and outcomes.[1501,1615,1659, etc.]
Open sourcePUBMED • 2013 • Human evidence curation set
PMID 23885143 from World J Gastroenterol.
Outcome: See linked PubMed abstract for methods and outcomes.[1501,1615,1659, etc.]
Open sourcePUBMED • 2004 • Human evidence curation set
PMID 15536458 from Clin Pharmacol Ther.
Outcome: See linked PubMed abstract for methods and outcomes.[1501,1615,1659, etc.]
Open sourcePUBMED • 2018 • Human evidence curation set
PMID 30080294 from Phytother Res.
Outcome: See linked PubMed abstract for methods and outcomes.[1501,1615,1659, etc.]
Open sourcePUBMED • 2020 • Human evidence curation set
PMID 33302488 from Toxins (Basel).
Outcome: See linked PubMed abstract for methods and outcomes.[1501,1615,1659, etc.]
Open sourcePUBMED • 2023 • Human evidence curation set
PMID 35081820 from Crit Rev Food Sci Nutr.
Outcome: See linked PubMed abstract for methods and outcomes.[1501,1615,1659, etc.]
Open sourcePUBMED • 2020 • Human evidence curation set
PMID 31633199 from J Clin Pharm Ther.
Outcome: See linked PubMed abstract for methods and outcomes.[1501,1615,1659, etc.]
Open sourcePUBMED • 2022 • Human evidence curation set
PMID 34968721 from J Oral Biosci.
Outcome: See linked PubMed abstract for methods and outcomes.[1501,1615,1659, etc.]
Open source