Skip to main page content
U.S. flag

An official website of the United States government

Dot gov

The .gov means it’s official.
Federal government websites often end in .gov or .mil. Before sharing sensitive information, make sure you’re on a federal government site.

Https

The site is secure.
The https:// ensures that you are connecting to the official website and that any information you provide is encrypted and transmitted securely.

Access keys NCBI Homepage MyNCBI Homepage Main Content Main Navigation
Review
. 2008 Oct 8;269(2):352-62.
doi: 10.1016/j.canlet.2008.03.053. Epub 2008 May 9.

Multitargeted therapy of cancer by silymarin

Kumaraguruparan Ramasamy  1 , Rajesh Agarwal
Affiliations
Review

Multitargeted therapy of cancer by silymarin

Kumaraguruparan Ramasamy et al. Cancer Lett. .

Abstract

Silymarin, a flavonolignan from milk thistle (Silybum marianum) plant, is used for the protection against various liver conditions in both clinical settings and experimental models. In this review, we summarize the recent investigations and mechanistic studies regarding possible molecular targets of silymarin for cancer prevention. Number of studies has established the cancer chemopreventive role of silymarin in both in vivo and in vitro models. Silymarin modulates imbalance between cell survival and apoptosis through interference with the expressions of cell cycle regulators and proteins involved in apoptosis. In addition, silymarin also showed anti-inflammatory as well as anti-metastatic activity. Further, the protective effects of silymarin and its major active constituent, silibinin, studied in various tissues, suggest a clinical application in cancer patients as an adjunct to established therapies, to prevent or reduce chemotherapy as well as radiotherapy-induced toxicity. This review focuses on the chemistry and analogues of silymarin, multiple possible molecular mechanisms, in vitro as well as in vivo anti-cancer activities, and studies on human clinical trials.

PubMed Disclaimer

Figures

Figure 1
Figure 1
Structure of silibinin.
Figure 2
Figure 2
Possible anti-cancer mechanisms of silymarin.
See this image and copyright information in PMC

References

    1. Prasain JK, Barnes S. Metabolism and Bioavailability of Flavonoids in Chemoprevention: Current Analytical Strategies and Future Prospectus. Mol. Pharm. 2007;4:846–864. - PubMed
    1. Nishino H, Satomi Y, Tokuda H, Masuda M. Cancer control by phytochemicals. Curr. Pharm. Des. 2007;13:3394–3399. - PubMed
    1. Post-White J, Ladas EJ, Kelly KM. Advances in the use of milk thistle (Silybum marianum) Integr. Cancer Ther. 2007;6:104–109. - PubMed
    1. Kroll DJ, Shaw HS, Oberlies NH. Milk thistle nomenclature: why it matters in cancer research and pharmacokinetic studies. Integr. Cancer Ther. 2007;6:110–119. - PubMed
    1. Lee DY, Liu Y. Molecular structure and stereochemistry of silybin A, silybin B, isosilybin A, and isosilybin B, Isolated from Silybum marianum (milk thistle) J. Nat. Prod. 2003;66:1171–1174. - PubMed

Publication types

MeSH terms