According to a study published in the online edition of Cancer, an American Cancer Society Journal, Milk Thistle may reduce liver inflammation caused by chemotherapy in cancer patients.
50 children, who were undergoing chemotherapy for acute lyphoblastic leukemia, were randomly assigned to receive either Milk Thistle or a placebo. Chemotherapy drugs are known to often cause liver inflammation which requires a reduction in dosage levels below optimal chemotherapy doses and even requires suspension of chemotherapy treatments until the inflammation is reduced which may compromise the effectiveness of the treatment protocol. The treatment lasted 56 days and was given orally in a capsule form. 61% of the children were given the Milk Thistle with the remainder given a placebo.
The participants in the Milk Thistle group had significantly lower levels of AST (aspartate aminotransferase) and trends toward lower ALT (alanine aminotransferase) and bilirubin when compared with the group receiving the placebo. Additionally the participants in the Milk Thistle group appeared to be able to endure higher dosages of chemotherapy when compared to placebo group.
Researchers concluded that this study provided preliminary evidence that Milk Thistle is both a safe and effective supportive care tool. They also called for further studies of Milk Thistle to see how effective the treatment would be with a longer treatment protocol in addition to Milk Thistle’s benefit for reductions of liver inflammation caused by other forms of cancer and other types of chemotherapy.
ASK US. WE KNOW. NOBODY KNOWS NUTRITION LIKE WE DO. NOBODY!
