An official website of the United States government.

Official websites use .gov
A .gov website belongs to an official government organization in the United States.

Secure .gov websites use HTTPS
A lock ( ) or https:// means you've safely connected to the .gov website. Share sensitive information only on official, secure websites.

Plant Silybum marianum (Asteraceae)

Common Names
Milk Thistle; Lady's Thistle
How this plant is used
Generally Recognized as Safe
View the list of ubiquitous chemicals
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
PALMITIC-ACID 13 Seed not available not available not available Duke, 1992 *
PALMITIC-ACID 13 Seed Oil not available not available not available Duke, 1992 *
PEROXIDASE-ISOENZYMES 0 Fruit not available not available not available Duke, 1992 *
PEROXIDASE-ISOENZYMES 0 Leaf not available not available not available Duke, 1992 *
PEROXIDASE-ISOENZYMES 0 Root not available not available not available Duke, 1992 *
PEROXIDASE-ISOENZYMES 0 Stem not available not available not available Duke, 1992 *
PHOSPHORUS 4 Leaf 1553.0 7060.0 0.38 Duke, 1992 *
PHOSPHORUS 4 Plant not available 7060.0 1.67 Pedersen, M. 1987. Nutritional Herbology. Pederson Publishing. Bountiful, Utah. 377 pp.
POTASSIUM 14 Leaf 1833.0 8330.0 -0.97 Duke, 1992 *
POTASSIUM 14 Plant not available 8330.0 -0.94 Pedersen, M. 1987. Nutritional Herbology. Pederson Publishing. Bountiful, Utah. 377 pp.
PROLINE 0 Tissue Culture not available not available not available Duke, 1992 *
PROTEIN 0 Leaf 31460.0 143000.0 -0.69 Duke, 1992 *
PROTEIN 0 Plant not available 143000.0 -0.25 Pedersen, M. 1987. Nutritional Herbology. Pederson Publishing. Bountiful, Utah. 377 pp.
PROTEIN 0 Seed 186000.0 280000.0 0.41 Duke, 1992 *
QUERCETIN 176 Fruit not available not available not available Duke, 1992 *
QUERCETIN 176 Seed not available not available not available List, P.H. and Horhammer, L., Hager's Handbuch der Pharmazeutischen Praxis, Vols. 2-6, Springer-Verlag, Berlin, 1969-1979.
RIBOFLAVIN 15 Leaf 0.4 2.0 -0.17 Duke, 1992 *
SELENIUM 60 Leaf 2.0 7.1 0.16 Duke, 1992 *
SELENIUM 60 Plant not available 7.1 -0.11 Pedersen, M. 1987. Nutritional Herbology. Pederson Publishing. Bountiful, Utah. 377 pp.
SILANDRIN 1 Fruit not available not available not available Duke, 1992 *
View the list of ubiquitous chemicals
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
Antibacterial 13 Jeffery B. Harborne and H. Baxter, eds. 1983. Phytochemical Dictionary. A Handbook of Bioactive Compounds from Plants. Taylor & Frost, London. 791 pp.
Antibiotic 2 Williamson, E. M. and Evans, F. J., Potter's New Cyclopaedia of Botanical Drugs and Preparations, Revised Ed., Saffron Walden, the C. W. Daniel Co., Ltd., Essex UK, 362 pp, 1988, reprint 1989.
AntiBPH 1 Duke, 1992 *
Anticancer 3 Duke, 1992 *
Anticancer (Breast) 1 Madhavi, D. L., Bomser, J., Smith, M., Singletary, K. 1998. Isolation of Bioactive Constituents from Vaccinium myrtillus (Bilberry) Fruits and Cell Cultures. Plant Sci., 131(1): 95-103.
Anticancer (Cervix) 1 Duke, 1992 *
Anticancer (Lung) 2 Duke, 1992 *
Anticanker 2 Werbach, M. 1993. Healing with Food. Harper Collins, New York, 443 pp.
Anticarcinogenic 1 Duke, 1992 *
Anticarcinomic 2 Pizzorno, J.E. and Murray, M.T. 1985. A Textbook of Natural Medicine. John Bastyr College Publications, Seattle, Washington (Looseleaf).
Anticarcinomic (Breast) 1 Medline (post 1990 searches filed in my computer)
Anticariogenic 1 Duke, 1992 *
Anticarpal-Tunnel 1 Werbach, M. 1993. Healing with Food. Harper Collins, New York, 443 pp.
Anticataract 8 Werbach, M. 1993. Healing with Food. Harper Collins, New York, 443 pp.
Anticephalagic 3 Duke, 1992 *
Anticerebrotic 1 Jeffery B. Harborne and H. Baxter, eds. 1983. Phytochemical Dictionary. A Handbook of Bioactive Compounds from Plants. Taylor & Frost, London. 791 pp.
Anticervicaldysplasic 3 Duke, 1992 *
AntiCFS 3 Duke, 1992 *
Anticheilitic 2 Davies, S., and Stewart, A. 1990. Nutritional Medicine. Avon Books, New York. 509pp.
Antichilblain 2 Jeffery B. Harborne and H. Baxter, eds. 1983. Phytochemical Dictionary. A Handbook of Bioactive Compounds from Plants. Taylor & Frost, London. 791 pp.