It’s been suggested that the antioxidant effects of silymarin may have some anticancer effects, which could be helpful for people receiving cancer treatment ( 9).

Milk thistle has been used as a traditional remedy for neurological conditions like Alzheimer’s and Parkinson’s disease for over two thousand years ( 13). Milk thistle may be useful in treating liver disease, cancer, and diabetes. But the evidence is limited, and some research methodologies are flawed, so it’s difficult to confirm these effects.In fact, in studies where high doses were used for long periods, only about 1% of people experienced side effects ( 1).

Studies have shown improvements in liver function in people with liver diseases who have taken a milk thistle supplement, suggesting it could help reduce liver inflammation and liver damage ( 9). And although milk thistle extract is commonly used as a complementary therapy for people with liver diseases, there’s currently no evidence that it can prevent you from getting these conditions, especially if you have an unhealthy lifestyle. Some animal studies have shown that milk thistle could be useful for reducing the side effects of cancer treatments ( 26, 27, 28).In test-tube and animal studies, silymarin has been shown to prevent oxidative damage to brain cells, which could help prevent mental decline ( 16, 17). Its herbal remedy is known as milk thistle extract. Milk thistle extract has a high amount of silymarin (between 65–80%) that has been concentrated from the milk thistle plant. The data is very limited, but one randomized controlled study found that mothers taking 420 mg of silymarin for 63 days produced 64% more milk than those taking a placebo ( 37).