Randomized controlled trial of silymarin (milk thistle) treatment in patients with cirrhosis of the liver.
    Ferenci P, Dragosics B, Dittrich H, Frank H, Benda L, Lochs H, Meryn S, Base W, Schneider B.
     1st Department of Gastroenterology and Hepatology, University of Vienna, Austria
      J Hepatol 1989 Jul;9(1):105-13

Silymarin, the active principle of the milk thistle Silybum marianum, protects experimental animals against various hepatotoxic substances. To determine the effect of silymarin on the outcome of patients with cirrhosis, a double blind, prospective, randomized study was performed in 170 patients with cirrhosis

87 patients
(alcoholic 46, non-alcoholic 41; 61 male, 26 female; Child A, 47; B, 37; C, 3; mean age 57) received 140 mg silymarin three times daily.

83 patients
(alcoholic 45, non-alcoholic 38; 62 male, 21 female; Child A, 42; B, 32; C, 9: mean age 58) received a placebo.

Non-compliant patients and patients who failed to come to a control were considered as 'drop outs' and were withdrawn from the study. All patients received the same treatment until the last patient entered had finished 2-years of treatment. The mean observation period was 41 months. There were 10 drop outs in the placebo group and 14 in the treatment group. In the placebo group, 37 (+2 drop outs) patients had died, and in 31 of these, death was related to liver disease. In the treatment group, 24 (+4 drop outs) had died, and in 18 of these, death was related to liver disease.

The 4-year survival rate was 58 +/- 9% (S.E.) in silymarin-treated patients and 39 +/- 9% in the placebo group (P = 0.036). Analysis of subgroups indicated that treatment was effective in patients with alcoholic cirrhosis (P = 0.01) and in patients initially rated 'Child A' (P = 0.03). No side effects of drug treatment were observed.

This abstract makes no mention of how many patients were on HCV therapy in either the groups receiving milk thistle or not. If a person has HIV and HCV, there is a study ongoing now to see if milk thistle interacts with HIV medications, as there was recent preliminary data suggesting there might be an interaction. Although researchers I spoke with did not feel a clinically significant interaction was likely it would be cautious to wait for the results.