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Review
. 2013;18(2):141-7.
doi: 10.3851/IMP2402. Epub 2012 Sep 25.

Silymarin for HCV infection

Stephen J Polyak  1 , Nicholas H Oberlies, Eve-Isabelle Pécheur, Harel Dahari, Peter Ferenci, Jean-Michel Pawlotsky
Affiliations
Review

Silymarin for HCV infection

Stephen J Polyak et al. Antivir Ther. 2013.

Abstract

Silymarin, an extract of milk thistle seeds, and silymarin-derived compounds have been considered hepatoprotective since the plant was first described in ancient times. Hepatoprotection is defined as several non-mutually exclusive biological activities including antiviral, antioxidant, anti-inflammatory and immunomodulatory functions. Despite clear evidence for silymarin-induced hepatoprotection in cell culture and animal models, evidence for beneficial effects in humans has been equivocal. This review will summarize the current state of knowledge on silymarin in the context of HCV infection. The information was collated from a recent workshop on silibinin in Germany.

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Figures

Figure 1
Figure 1
Structures that illustrate constituents of silibinin vs SIL. Silibinin is a mixture of silybin A and silybin B. Two succinate moieties are added synthetically to each individual flavonolignan to form the two-component mixture known as Legalon-SIL.
See this image and copyright information in PMC

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