Witnessed by: TCM · Western
Milk thistle (Silybum marianum), of the Asteraceae family. Stout biennial thistle with white-marbled spiny leaves; native range: the Mediterranean; naturalised through Europe and beyond. Globally recognized as shui fei ji (水飞蓟) in Chinese, and milk thistle, St Mary's thistle, Our Lady's thistle, holy thistle in English. The part used is ripe seed (fruit). Hard, oily, bland-bitter seeds.
In this cross-tradition database, we analyze how this substance operates across world medicine systems — tracking its traditional tastes, temperatures, tissue affinities, post-digestive effects, and planetary correspondences across Ayurveda, Unani, and Western herbalism.
MILK THISTLE
IDENTITY
Name
- Common
- Milk thistle
- Scientific name
- Silybum marianum (L.) Gaertn.
- Family
- Asteraceae
Form
- Part used
- ripe seed (fruit)
PROPERTIES
Nature
Taste
how the plant declares itself on the tongue
- TCM
- bitter · sweet
- Western
- bitter
Temperature
TCM: cool
Western: cool
convergence: both {witness_count} witnesses reckon it cooling
Affinity
where in the body it travels
Organs / channels
- TCM
- Liver · Gallbladder
- Western
- liver · digestion
PRACTICE
Virtue
Actions
- TCM
- clears and drains damp-heat from the Liver and Gallbladder, soothes the Liver and relieves jaundice — qing gan li dan
- Western
- hepatoprotective, hepatic trophorestorative, cholagogue and antioxidant; silymarin regenerates and shields the liver cell
Cautions
Contraindications: generally very safe; caution in obstructive jaundice from stone
Toxicity: mild laxative and occasional gastrointestinal upset; rare allergy in those sensitive to the Asteraceae
Interactions
- Western
- CYP450-metabolised drugs: silymarin mildly inhibits CYP enzymes and glucuronidation, altering the clearance of some drugs
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