Dosage of any supplement is decided on the basis of reason behind the prescription. Even in case of silymarin, the dosage depends on several factors. Physicians should examine the medical history of the individual before prescribing the supplement.
In recent years silymarin is being used as an anti-aging supplement and in the treatment of liver issues. It is very helpful in liver issues including hepatitis, jaundice and gallbladder disorders. Silymarin is an active component of Milk thistle extract. Milk Thistle belongs to daisy and ragweed family. It is a flowering herb. It is also called as St. Mary’s thistle. Milk Thistle is native to Mediterranean countries.
Benefits and Dosage of silymarin extract:
Many studies have proved that silymarin is very helpful in individuals suffering from viral hepatitis. In serious conditions, usage of silymarin will reduce the complications. It can accelerate the recovery process that reduces the hospital stay. In case of hepatitis, the dosage of silymarin should be 140mg. This is prescribed three times daily; preferably two to three divided doses. If given to three weeks, significant improvement can be seen by silymarin. Studies have shown that by the above dosage, bilirubin normalized percentage after the treatment was 40%, which is really good.
Silymarin can be induced in individuals who are poisoned by A phalloides. Survival rate is very low in children poisoned by A phalloides. Silymarin can increase the chances of saving the children in these cases. It is also useful in humans poisoned by phenothiazines and butyrophenones. In these cases of poisoning treatment should be done immediately. Then the silymarin extract will work effectively. The extract used for these issues is called silibinin. It is a constituent of silymarin. Silibinin is known to be most therapeutically active in silymarin extract among the flavonolignans. If the interval is shorter between the poisoning and the dosage given that can significantly reduce the severe injury caused by poisoning. Usually 33mg/kg/day is the standard dosage of silibinin for poisoning. This is an intravenous infusion. This should be given for average 81.6 hours. Usually most of the patients survive by this method unless any complications.
Silymarin is very helpful for cirrhosis. There was a study done on 170 patients. Among them 87 had treatment using silymarin and rest of them treated with placebo. The treatment took 2-6 years. After four years, when they checked the survival rate it was higher in the patients who got treatment with silyramin compared the patients treated with placebo. If the patient with cirrhosis is suffering from class B or C portal hypertension, then silymarin treatment is not effective. It works well in patients who have alcohol related cirrhosis.
One more study on silymarin shows that it is very effective for liver diseases. This was done on more than 2000 people. They all had chronic liver diseases. They have given high doses of silymarin. It was 560 mg/day for almost 8 weeks. Positive results came in 8 weeks among 63% of the patients. It was really a good result.