AMAZING news – please share: Scientists have found that Milk thistle protects against both UV-induced skin cancer and “photo aging” (light degradation) of skin.
Two University of Colorado (USA) Cancer Center studies, the second of which was published on Jan 28th 2013, have demonstrated that silibinin – the main active ingredient in milk thistle seed extract – has efficacy against both ultraviolet A (UVA) and ultraviolet B (UVB)-induced skin carcinogenesis and photo-aging.
What’s truly astonishing is that silibinin has been found to act selectively – killing cells that have been mutated by UVA, while simultaneously being non-toxic to healthy cells and also accelerating repair of UVB-damaged non-cancerous cells.
That’s pretty remarkable: Milk thistle simultaneously a) wipes out cells with damaged DNA b) selectively leaves the healthy cells alone and c) repairs the UVB-damaged ones: It behaves in three different ways when in contact with three different types of cells!
The team from the Colorado Cancer Center, led by Rajesh Agarwal PhD, has been studying milk thistle for an astonishing twenty years. Rajesh Agarwal is co-program leader of Cancer Prevention and Control at the CU Cancer Center and professor at the Skaggs School of Pharmacy and Pharmaceutical Sciences.
How’s that for dedication to the cause? Pretty amazing. Let’s be honest – these are unsung heroes of our time. I take my hat off to you and your team, Dr. Agarwal.
Milk thistle is also widely regarded as having remarkable liver protection / healing qualities (this is what it is currently most often employed for) and has also shown some promising results in lab research against breast and prostate cancer cells. Did you know that it has also been employed as an antidote in some types of poisoning and is even claimed by some to be a hangover cure?
Milk thistle is widely regarded as an excellent herb and is readily available as a supplement in capsule or tincture form. It is considered one of the “tonic herbs” – and lab tests such as this one have reported it not to cause harm when taken over a prolonged period.
