Silibinin

Silibinin, a principal component of silymarin, is a flavonolignan and an orally active flavonoid. It is isolated from the seeds of milk thistle (Sylibum marianum L).

Silibinin has been used:

• to study its effect on gene expression levels of various proteins involved in chromatin regulations of prostate cancer, by real time polymerase chain reaction (RT-PCR)
• to study its effect on cell proliferation in platelet-derived growth factor (PDGF)-treated human tenon′s fibroblasts (HTFs) by investigating the expression of proliferating cell nuclear antigen (PCNA) and by water-soluble tetrazolium salt (WST-1) assay
• to examine its effect on gene expression levels of stromelysine 1 (STM1), acetyl hexoseamines and collagen production during skin wound healing
• to study its inhibitory effect on Escherichia coli ATP synthase

Silibinin functions as a hepatoprotectant in patients with acute and chronic liver injury. This flavonoid fights against various cancer cells including, prostate, skin, breast, colon, lung, bladder and hepatocellular carcinoma (HCC). Silibinin exhibits its efficacy as an anti-cancer agent by blocking the secretion of proangiogenic factors from tumor cells, and by hindering growth and inducing apoptotic death of endothelial cells. In addition, it also interrupts capillary tube formation on Matrigel. Silibinin might be a good candidate for chemoprevention of prostate cancer (PC). It might be used as a potential therapeutic regimen for the treatment of endometriosis in vitro and in vivo.

Contains both A and B diastereomers