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Dr. Duke's Phytochemical and Ethnobotanical Databases
U.S. Department of Agriculture
  1. Home
  2. Silybum marianum

Silybum marianum (Asteraceae)

Common Names
Milk Thistle; Lady's Thistle
How this plant is used
Generally Recognized as Safe
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List of plant chemicals.
Click on column headings to sort table by that column. *Unless otherwise noted all references are to (Duke, 1992)
Chemical Name Activity Count Plant Part Low Parts Per Million High Parts Per Million Standard Deviation Reference
FIBER(CRUDE) 0 Leaf 120000.0 -0.19 *
FIBER(DIETARY) 0 Leaf 390000.0 0.19 *
FIXED-OIL 0 Seed *
FLAVONES 0 Seed Coat 36600.0 *
FRUCTOSE 8 Seed *
FUMARIC-ACID 7 Leaf *
GAMMA-AMINOBUTYRIC-ACID 22 Seed *
GLUCOSE 7 Seed *
GLUTAMIC-ACID 8 Seed *
GLYCINE 12 Seed *
HEPTADECA-1-8-15-TRIENE-11-13-DIYN-10-OL 0 Root 800.0 *
HEPTADECA-1-8-15-TRIENE-11-13-DIYNE 0 Root 1400.0 *
HEPTADECA-1-CIS-8-CIS-15-TRIENE-11-13-DIYN-10-OL 0 Root 5.0 *
HEPTADECA-CIS-2-CIS-9-16-TRIENE-4-6-DIYNE 0 Root 5.0 *
HEPTADECATRIEN-(1,8,15)-DIIN-(11,13) 0 Root 1.4 List, P.H. and Horhammer, L., Hager's Handbuch der Pharmazeutischen Praxis, Vols. 2-6, Springer-Verlag, Berlin, 1969-1979.
HEPTADECATRIEN-(1,8,15)-DIIN-(11,13)-OL-(10) 0 Root 0.8 List, P.H. and Horhammer, L., Hager's Handbuch der Pharmazeutischen Praxis, Vols. 2-6, Springer-Verlag, Berlin, 1969-1979.
HISTAMINE 18 Seed List, P.H. and Horhammer, L., Hager's Handbuch der Pharmazeutischen Praxis, Vols. 2-6, Springer-Verlag, Berlin, 1969-1979.
IRON 6 Leaf 23.0 106.0 -0.65 *
IRON 6 Plant 106.0 -0.61 Pedersen, M. 1987. Nutritional Herbology. Pederson Publishing. Bountiful, Utah. 377 pp.
ISOSILYBIN 0 Fruit 4000.0 *
View the list of ubiquitous chemicals
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List of plant activities.
Click on column headings to sort table by that column. *Unless otherwise noted all references are to (Duke, 1992)
Activity Chemical Count Reference
Aphidifuge 3 *
Apoptotic 7 *
Aromatase-Inhibitor 4 Journal of Medicinal Food 2: 235.1999.
Artemicide 1 Jung, J.H., Pummangura, S., Chaichantipyuth, c., Patarapanich, C., and McLaughlin, J.L. 1989. Bioactive Constituents of Melodorum fruticosum. Phytochemistry. 29(5): 1667-1670. 1990.
Asthma-preventive 1 Pizzorno, J.E. and Murray, M.T. 1985. A Textbook of Natural Medicine. John Bastyr College Publications, Seattle, Washington (Looseleaf).
Astringent 1 Martindale's 28th
ATPase-Inhibitor 1 Nigg, H.N. and Seigler, D.S., eds. 1992. Phytochemical Resources for Medicine and Agriculture. Plenum Press, New York. 445 pp.
Bacteristat 1 *
Beta-Adrenergic Receptor Blocker 1 *
Beta-Blocker 1 *
Beta-Glucuronidase-Inhibitor 3 *
Bradycardiac 1 Huang, K. C. 1993. The Pharmacology of Chinese Herbs. CRC Press, Boca Raton, FL 388 pp.
Bronchoconstrictor 1 Jeffery B. Harborne and H. Baxter, eds. 1983. Phytochemical Dictionary. A Handbook of Bioactive Compounds from Plants. Taylor & Frost, London. 791 pp.
Bronchostimulant 1 Martindale's 28th
Bruchiphobe 1 Jacobson, M., Glossary of Plant-Derived Insect Deterrents, CRC Press, Inc., Boca Raton, FL, 213 p, 1990.
Calcium-Antagonist 3 *
Calcium-Antagonist? 1 Biochimica & Biophysica Acta, 1115: 69, 1991.
Calcium-Channel-Blocker 1 *
Calmodulin-Antagonist 1 Pizzorno, J.E. and Murray, M.T. 1985. A Textbook of Natural Medicine. John Bastyr College Publications, Seattle, Washington (Looseleaf).
cAMP-Phosphodiesterase-Inhibitor 3 *