🌿 Milk Thistle (Silybum marianum)

The protector of the liver and guardian of inner purity

🌍 Origin & history

Milk thistle is a stately, prickly plant with purple flowers and white veins on its leaves — according to legend, it originated from the milk of the Virgin Mary, who spilled a few drops on the thistle during her flight. Hence her name Mary thistle ( Silybum marianum ).

This plant has been known for thousands of years as liver protector . The ancient Greeks, especially Dioscorides (1st century AD).), described her as a remedy for “melancholy and liver disorders”. In the Middle Ages, European monks used her in liver tonics and “purification drinks”. It was also used in the folk medicine of North Africa and the Middle East to ease the digestive system after fatty meals and alcohol consumption.

Today, Milk Thistle is one of the most researched medicinal herbs in the world , with dozens of clinical studies confirming its effects on the liver.

🌿 Botanical description

Milk thistle belongs to the composite family (Asteraceae). It can be up to one and a half meters tall and has distinctive shiny green leaves with white veins and sharp spikes. The flower is deep purple and contains the seeds that contain the most healing power.