Milk Thistle for Dogs

In 1984, a team of researchers set out to answer a question that sounds almost too dramatic for a laboratory. Personally, I don’t like any research that involves animals, but in this case, it has likely saved many lives. Amanita phalloides, the death cap, is the most toxic mushroom and its toxins target mainly liver cells. Dogs find these mushrooms in parks and backyards every fall, and sadly many don't survive. The researchers were trying to figure out if silibinin, the most active compound in milk thistle seeds could protect the liver, and the findings were undeniable. The dogs given silibinin were protected. They had far less liver damage, their blood clotting stayed more stable, and their lives were saved. Around the same time, doctors in Europe started giving silibinin to people poisoned by the same mushroom. In one report of 18 patients, 17 survived! The one person who died had eaten an extremely large amount on purpose. So how does, milk thistle, a common roadside weed do this? The research points to three things. Silibinin blocks the doorway that toxins use to get into liver cells. It helps the liver keep up its supply of glutathione, the body's own master antioxidant. And ...