The Phytosome Process

Maximum Milk Thistle™ is much more effective than an 80% standardized milk thistle formula due to its patented process.*

It is the Phytosome® process that first purifies silybin from silymarin and then binds silybin to phosphatidylcholine on a molecular level.

This allows for 8 to 10 times greater absorption of the key healing element of the milk thistle plant into the bloodsteam where it can do its good work.

The Phytosome® process is a patented technology (U.S. Patent #4,764,508) combining herbal extracts with phospholipids (lecithin) for increased absorption of the herb.

Phytosomes are created when the standardized extract and active ingredients of an herb are bound to the phospholipids on a molecular level.

The newly created Phytosome® structures contain the active ingredients of the herb surrounded by the phospholipids. The phospholipid molecular structure includes a water-soluble head and two fat-soluble tails. Because of this dual solubility, the phospholipid acts as an effective emulsifier.

An emulsifier is a material that can combine two liquids that normally will not mix well together.

By combining the emulsifying action of the phospholipids with the standardized botanical extracts, the Phytosome® form provides dramatically enhanced bioavailability and delivers faster and improved absorption in the intestinal tract.

And, because not all botanical properties are as bioavailable as others, joining them to phospholipids produces an effective medium for increased absorption of the active constituents of the herb.

Without the Phytosome® process, a reduced amount of the botanical extract and its active ingredients, which are usually non-lipophyllic, permeate the intestinal lumen.

By creating the Phytosome® complex of herbal extract and soybean phospholipids (lecithin), the result is a new dosage structure that is more rapidly absorbed and more efficiently used by the body.

Research has shown that an herbal Phytosome® is more biologically active, therefore, it provides all the benefits of botanticals at reduced dosage. This means your body utilizes and absorbs more of the beneficial properties of herbs so you can take less and still achieve the herbs desired results.

What is a Phytosome® product?

To be properly absorbed by the body, the active molecules of a herbal compound (bioflavonoids) must first link up with a fatty acid. This natural process usually takes place within the body. Unfortunately, not all the herbal compound is able to link up with fatty acids, resulting in much of the herb’s active ingredients passing out of the body, unused. Phytosome® products put a stop to this wastage.

The patented Phytosome® process ensures the vital link between bioflavonoid and fatty acid takes place before the herbal supplement is taken into the body, improving absorption, increasing biological availability, and enhancing delivery to the tissues. The fatty acid to which active plant ingredients are bound is a natural component of lecithin, known as phosphatidylcholine (fos-fah-ty-dil-ko-leen).

Read what Michael T. Murray, ND, has to say about the Phytosome® process.

*These statements have not been evaluated by the FDA. This product is a dietary supplement and is not intended to diagnose, treat, cure, or prevent any disease.

Order Maximum Milk Thistle™ here.