review on pharmacological, cultivation and biotechnology aspects of milk thistle [Silybum marianum [L.] Gaertn]

Milk thistle [Silybum marianum, [L.] Gaertn.] is one of the valuable medicinal plants which used in the treatment of liver disorders. The major active constituents in this plant are flavonolignans, collectively known as silymarin which is a mixture of three isomer silybin, silydianin and silycristin. Its therapeutic properties are due to the presence of silymarin. The seeds contain the highest amount of silymarin, but the other plant parts have less amount of this compound. The silymarin content in fruits depends on milk thistle variety and geographic and climatic condition. In this review, we summarized the accomplished investigations on aspects of medicinal, cultivation, biology and biotechnology of milk thistle

[Using yeast extract as an approach to increase flavonolignans content in cell suspension culture of Milk Thistle plant via elicitation mechanism]

Silybum marianum [L.] Gaertn is a kind of medicinal plants. Silymarin is a derivate substance from the fruits of milk thistle plant which is consists of a large number of flavonolignans. Cell cultures derived from this species could be an alternative for production of flavonolignans. Elicitors cause enhancement in metabolite production by effecting on key enzymes in secondary metabolites pathways. In this study various level of Yeast extract in 5 different exposure time have been used as an biotic elicitor in order to evaluation the effect of Yeast extract on silymarin production and cell growth and nomination the best time and best consistence of the elicitor. In this study various level of Yeast extract in 5 different exposure time have been used as an biotic elicitor in order to evaluation the effect of Yeast extract on silymarin production and cell growth and nomination the best time and best consistence of the elicitor. In this work after preparation cell suspension culture of S. marianum, the effects of various level of yeast extract [1, 2. 4, 6 and 8 mg/ 50 ml culture] in 6 different exposure time [12,24, 48, 72, 144 and 216 h] on flavonolignans production by High Performance Liquid Chromatography [HPLC] have been studied. Determination and quantification of flavonolignans showed that cell suspension cultures of S.marianum were consists of a large number of flavonolignans including silychristin, silydianin, silybin, isosilybin and taxifolin. The results showed that Yeast extract cause improvement in silymarin content in the media treated with 6 [mg/ 50 ml culture] Yeast extract at the end of 72h which was 5- fold to compare the control and the maximum cell Dry weight was 5.82 g in the media treated with 4 mg/ 50 ml culture Yeast extract at the end of 24h. In this experiment it has been observed that cell suspension culture of S. marianum are susceptible to elicitation by Yeast extract and it can be extremely useful in increasing productivities in cell suspension culture of Milk thistle plant

Determination of tocopherols and fatty acids in seeds of Silybum marianum [L.] gaerth

The dried fruits of Silybum marianum [L.] Gaertn [Compositae] contain silymarin, an isomeric mixture of flavonolignans. Silymarin acts as a strong anti -hepatotoxic. This fruits contains a high amount of oil The objective of this study was to determine total lipid content, fatty acid composition and content of different kind of tocopherols in seed oils of S. marianum Fatty acid compositon and a-, y- and ?-tocopherol [vitamin E] content from seeds of Silybum maianum were investigated by gas chromatography and high performance liquid chromatography methods. and Conclusion: Total lipid percentage was approximately 25% and nine fatty acids including; palmitic acid [8.25%], palmeotic acid [0.07%], Stearic acid [6.67%], oleic acid [31.58%], Isomer oleic acid [0.53%], linoleic acid [45.36%], linolenic acid [0.87%], arashidic acid [4.11%], eicozantoic acid [0.088%] and behenic acid [2.6%] were determined a-, y- and tocopherol content were around 563.157, 88.87 and 163.791 mg Kg -1 DW respectively that could be a natural good sources of antioxidant

Evaluation of phenotypic coefficient and flavonolignan content in dried fruits of cultivated and endemic Silybum marianum [L.] gaertn

Silybum marianum [L.] Gaertn. has been used for centuries as an herbal medicine for treatment of liver disease. Fruits of S. marianum contain silymarin, which is composed of the flavonolignans, silybin, isosilybin, silydianin and silychristin. The aim of this research was to investigate the effects of environmental conditions on silymarin content and morphological characteristic of S. marianum. The dried fruits of S. marianum were collected from 13 area of Iran and cultivated at greenhouse conditions. Morphological characteristic were studied and silymarin content analyzed by HPLC. The results showed that silybin is the main component of silymarin and was affected by environmental conditions. The amount of silymarin was very different in cultivated and endemic plants in comparison with together. The silymarin content had a significant positive correlation with seed yield/plant, stem diameter and number of capsules/plant

Advances in studies on chemical constituents and bioactivities of plants from flacourtiaceae / 中国中药杂志

In this article, the research of chemical constituents and bioactivities in recent ten years has been reviewed of plants from the 12 genera in Flacourtiaceae related to the medicinal resources in China. The research in China about the plants from Flacourtiaceae was done very little, but many literatures have been reported abroad. The plants from Flacourtiaceae mostly contain the constituents such as aromatic glucosides, lignanoid glucosides, diterpenoids and cyclopentenoid cyanohydrin glucosides et al. These compounds or plant extracts mainly show antibacterial, antiviral, antitumor, hypolipidemic and hypoglycemic activities. The research of plants from Carrierea, Itoa and Bennettiodendron of Flacourtiaceae in China is still blank. The systemic research about chemical constituents and bioactivities of plants from these genera will play important roles in the discovery of novel natural products and active constituents, and provide valuable reference for the classifying of plants from these genera.

Determination of flavonalignans of dried fruits of silybum marianum [L.] gaertn collected from different areas of Iran by spectrophotometry, TLC and HPLC

Silymarin complex consisted of five flavonolignans [silybum A and B Isosylibin A and B, silychristin, silydianin and taxifolin] isolated from dried fruits of Silybum marianum [L]Gaertn silybin is the main component of silymarin complex. Hepatoprotective activity of silymarin may be related to its antioxidant property. This study was conducted to understand the environmental condition on silymarin methabolism. Silymarin extraction and flavolignans assay by spectrophotometery, TLC and HPLC was performed on milk thistle seeds collected from different areas of Iran, Hungarian seeds cultivated in greenhouse and field in Karaj. Valasht and Borazjan had the highest levels of silymain content by spectrophotometery method. In TLC method all 5 component were identified. We analyzed the flavolignans contents by HPLC and results showed that borazjan had the highest level of silymarin. To produce commercially silymarin we need to search for the best genotype

Effect of silymarin, The seed extract of cultivated and endemic silbum marianum [L.] gaertn., On serum lipid levels and atherosclerosis development in hypercholestrolemic rabbits

Silymarin, the seed extract of silybum marianum [L] gaertn., contains flavonolignan compounds with powerful antioxidant properties. The favourable effects of herbal medicine with antioxidant properties on lipid profile have been reported in several experimental studies. The aim of this research was to investigate the effects of cultivated and endemic silymarins and levostatin with antioxidant properties on serum lipoproteins levels and atherosclerosis development in hypercholesterolemic rabbits. Hypercholesterolemic foods were fed to 5 groups of 8 rabbits each for 60 days one group negative control, second group received levostatin [10mg/kg] and other two groups received cultivated and endemic silymarins [200 mg/kg] daily one hour before feeding. The last group did not receive any drugs [positive control] The fasting blood total cholesterol LDL and HDL-cholesterol and triglyicride levels were determind before starting the experiments and also after 30 and 60 days during the study. At the end of the study rabbits were killed and the extent of aortic atherosclerotic plaque were determined. Results showed that, levostatin. Cultivated and endemic silymarins caused a significant decrease in fasting serum cholesterol and LDL-cholesterol compared to control group. HDL-cholestrol increased and triglyceride level was significant decreased in cultivated and endemic silymarins treated groups, as compared to positive control group. In addition, atherosclerotic plaque development was significantly decreased in levostatin, cultivated and endemic silymarins treated groups. Treatment of hypercholesterolemic rabbits with levostatin, cultivated and endemic silymarins showed favourable effects on serum lipid profile, as well as atherosclerotic plaque development

Biotransformation of aromatic aldehydes by cell cultures of Peganum harmala L. and Silybum marianum [L.] Gaertn

Many aldehydes are important components of natural flavours. They are used in food, cosmetic, and biomedical industries in large amounts. Plant cells or microorganisms carry out their production by biotransformation, which is one of the biotechnological methods that allow them to be defined as 'natural'. Cell cultures of Silybum marianum and Peganum harmala have been studied with a view to investigate their abilities to produce flavonolignans and beta-carboline alkaloids respectively. However, we have isolated S. marianum and P. harmala culture strain, which are able to metabolise several aromatic aldehydes. Ten culture strains derived from S. marianum and P. harmala were examined for their ability to biotransform exogenous aromatic aldehyde compounds, including benzaldehyde, 2-methoxybenzaldehyde, 4-methoxybenzaldehyde, cinnamaldehyde and 3-methoxy, 4-hydroxy benzaldehyde. Callus cultures of Silybum marianum and Peganum harmala were established from seedlings, and healthy suspensions were grown using the Murashige and Skoog medium. Exogenous aromatic aldehydes were fed to S. marianum and P. harmala cell suspension cultures. Biotransformation reactions were detected over 24 h of incubation. The cultures then extracted with dichloromethane and extracts subjected to GC and GC-MS analysis. The S. marianum cultured cells in this study exhibit greater selectivity in the reduction of aromatic aldehydes than P. harmala cultured cells. The ability of cultured plant cells to biotransform substrate appears to be dependent on the culture strains as well as the nature and position of the substituent on the aromatic ring