Clinical Studies - Index

The clinical studies included in this section attest to both the safety and effectiveness of Maximum Milk Thistle®. They prove that Maximum Milk Thistle® is not only safe and effective, but is also much more potent than regular 80% standardized silymarin.

The certainty of these studies is the reason Maximum Milk Thistle® is the only milk thistle formula listed in The Handbook of Clinically Tested Herbal Remedies.

The reason these studies were originally conducted was to have the active ingredient in Maximum Milk Thistle® (Silybin Phytosome, or Siliphos) introduced as a pharmaceutical drug in Europe.

To learn more about the studies and how they were organized and conducted, click here.

Unlike here in the U.S., European doctors take botanical medicine very seriously.

Physicians in Europe often prescribe herbal preparations on a regular basis for specific conditions and diseases. Milk thistle formulas are routinely prescribed for any and all liver concerns, including all forms of hepatitis.

In Germany, for instance, milk thistle extract is prescribed specifically for chronic hepatitis patients. Maximum Milk Thistle® is proven dramatically more effective than even the German prescription brand of milk thistle, Legalon, in some of the following studies.

Please be sure to note the objectives and the outcomes of each study. No other milk thistle brand has studies like these, especially with the very impressive outcomes shown here.

• Reference 1: Effect of Maximum Milk Thistle® on chronic active hepatitis

  This study shows significant reduction in elevated liver enzymes (and therefore hepatocellular necrosis) in just one week of treatment with the active ingredient in Maximum Milk Thistle®.

• Reference 2: Therapeutic effect of Maximum Milk Thistle® in chronic liver disease

  A small study of eight human subjects with chronic active hepatitis. This study shows significant benefits of the active ingredient in Maximum Milk Thistle® after just two months treatment.

• Reference 3: Comparison of Maximum Milk Thistle® to standardized milk thistle extract

  Study shows nearly ten times the bioavailability of the active ingredient in Maximum Milk Thistle® over the world’s best selling 80% standardized extract, the German product, Legalon.

• Reference 4: Useful dosages of Maximum Milk Thistle®

  Shows definite advantages of the active ingredient in Maximum Milk Thistle® at dosages ranging from 160mg to 360mg (measured as silybin). Dose/effect relationship is also demonstrated with the highest dosage tested getting the most dramatic results.

• Reference 5: Greater bioavailability of silybin in Maximum Milk Thistle®

  Laboratory study shows that binding silybin with phosphatidylcholine on a molecular level dramatically improves its bioavailablity on a cellular level.

• Reference 6: Increased oral bioavailability of Maximum Milk Thistle® in humans

  Human study compares the active ingredient in Maximum Milk Thistle® with the German 80% standardized extract, Legalon, and shows how much better the results are with Maximum Milk Thistle®.

• Reference 7: Effect of Maximum Milk Thistle® on cirrhotic patients

  Study shows the active ingredient in Maximum Milk Thistle® does not significantly differ in its safe and beneficial activity in patients with cirrhosis vs. healthy control subjects.

• Reference 8: Liver damage control properties of Maximum Milk Thistle®

  The active ingredient in Maximum Milk Thistle® shows significant protective activity against liver damage. This study tested the active ingredient in Maximum Milk Thistle® for protection against a variety of toxins.

• Reference 9: Free radical scavenging properties of Maximum Milk Thistle®

  Study shows the capability of the active ingredient in Maximum Milk Thistle® to scavenge free radicals and inhibit lipid peroxidation. It also demonstrates significantly higher blood plasma levels of silybin when administered as a component of the active ingredient in Maximum Milk Thistle® rather than in its unbound form.

• Reference 10: Effect of Silymarin on lipid peroxidation

  Study shows milk thistle extract (silymarin) to be ahelpful antioxidant and silybin to be the most valuable constituent of silymarin. This is important because Maximum Milk Thistle® uses pure silybin in its formula for greater effectiveness.

• Reference 11: Maximum Milk Thistle® counteracts hepatotoxic effects

  Study shows the active ingredient in Maximum Milk Thistle® protects liver cells against free-radical mediated toxic liver injury.

• Reference 12: Antioxidant activity of Maximum Milk Thistle® against alcohol

  Study shows how the active ingredient in Maximum Milk Thistle® is dramatically more effective than pure silybin alone. Concludes the active ingredient in Maximum Milk Thistle® may be useful in counteracting damage caused by alcohol intake.

• Reference 13: Tolerablility and effectiveness of Maximum Milk Thistle®

  Study shows high dose tolerability of the active ingredient inMaximum Milk Thistle® as well as its increased effectiveness over conventional standardized milk thistle extract.

• Reference 14: Liver protection potential of Maximum Milk Thistle®

  Study shows the antioxidant and free radical scavenging effect of the active ingredient in Maximum Milk Thistle®.

• Reference 15: Comparative bioavailability of Maximum Milk Thistle® vs. pure silybin

  Study shows exactly how much better silybin is absorbed when combined on a molecular level with phosphatidylcholine (the patented process resulting in the active ingredient in Maximum Milk Thistle® being up to 8-10 times more absorbable and 20 times more effective than 80% standardized milk thistle extracts).

• Reference 16: Liver protective activity

  Shows the active ingredient in Maximum Milk Thistle® is more effective than its constituents, silybin and phosphatidylcholine, alone. The effectiveness of Maximum Milk Thistle® is considerably greater than the sum of its parts.

• Reference 17: Effectiveness of Maximum Milk Thistle® for Chronic Persistent Hepatitis

  This study demonstrates the beneficial activity of Maximum Milk Thistle® in protecting and supporting liver cells in patients with ongoing liver inflammation. The three month study found "significant" improvements with the active ingredient in Maximum Milk Thistle® over a placebo.

Current Study Alert

There is a clinical trial of the active ingredient in Maximum Milk Thistle® currently underway at the University of Washington Medical Center that is being sponsored by the National Center For Complementary and Alternative Medicine (NCCAM)---a division of the National Institutes of Health (NIH).

Because earlier studies clearly demonstrated the safety and effectiveness of Siliphos, researchers want to specifically see if higher dosages will do even more good for Hepatitis C patients. You can learn more about this study, here.

See Charts and Graphs and More Scientific Background, Here.

Be sure to also see the comments from doctors and other medical experts, and read the quotes from liver patients.