88-5 |
Milk thistle: An interesting herb |
D. J. CARRIER, Biological & Agricultural Engineering Dept., Univ. of Arkansas, 203 Engineering Hall, Fayetteville, AR 72701 Natural and organic foods, functional foods, supplements and specialty retail sectors have become increasingly important in the U.S., with botanicals (herbs) sales of $17 billion. Herbs preparations are serious products and merit scrutiny. In fact, herb preparations can have favorable effects on aging and disease (cancer, arteriosclerosis, immune system decline, cataracts, diabetes type II etc…) processes. The long-term objective of this research program is to bring fundamental information to better control the extraction of valuable specialty chemicals from biobased materials, making safer products. The model studied in this work consists of milk thistle. This plant produces seeds that contain flavanolignans, often referred to as the silymarin complex. This complex usually includes taxifolin, silychristin, silydianin and the diastereosisomers silybinin A and silybinin B. This presentation will include: 1) description of the plant 2) brief summary of mechanism of action of silymarin; 3) possible drug interaction, 4) the analysis of off-the-shelf milk thistle products and 5) evaluation of various extractions schemes.
Session 88, Nutraceuticals & Functional Foods: General
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