Milk thistle (Silymarin marianum) is a plant that is best known for its liver protective effects. These effects arise because the milk thistle plant is high in antioxidants that belong to the flavonolignan group. Collectively these phytochemicals are called silymarin. Evidence suggests that milk thistle may also be protective of the brain, and in this regard is used in traditional medicine as a protective agent against degeneration of the brain. One study investigated the effects of a milk thistle extract of silymarin on oxidative stress in the brains of rats. Administration of the silymarin to rats cause significant increases in brain concentrations of glutathione, ascorbic acid and superoxide dismutase, all indicators of increased antioxidant content. In addition, there was a decrease in the levels of malondialdehyde, suggesting that lipid peroxidation levels had fallen. Milk thistle extracts therefore appear to offer protective effects against oxidation in the brain, and this may be why they are protective of brain disorders.
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