Silybin and Silymarin - New and Emerging Applications in Medicine

• Published in: Current medicinal chemistry Vol. 14; no. 3; pp. 315 - 338
• Main Authors: GAZAK, Radek, WALTEROVA, Daniela, KREN, Vladimir
• Format: Journal Article
• Language: English
• Published: Schiphol Bentham Science Publishers Ltd 01.02.2007; Bentham Science
• Subjects: Angiogenesis Inhibitors - therapeutic use; Animal Diseases - drug therapy; Animals; Anti-Inflammatory Agents - therapeutic use; Anticarcinogenic Agents - therapeutic use; Anticholesteremic Agents - therapeutic use; Antineoplastic agents; Antineoplastic Agents, Phytogenic - therapeutic use; Antioxidants - therapeutic use; Apoptosis - drug effects; ATP Binding Cassette Transporter, Subfamily B, Member 1 - drug effects; Biological and medical sciences; Bones, joints and connective tissue. Antiinflammatory agents; Carcinogenesis, carcinogens and anticarcinogens; Cardiotonic Agents - therapeutic use; Chemical agents; Cholagogues and Choleretics - therapeutic use; Female; General and cellular metabolism. Vitamins; General aspects; Glycoproteins; Humans; Kidneys; Lung Neoplasms - prevention & control; Male; Medical sciences; Pharmacology. Drug treatments; Prostatic Neoplasms - drug therapy; Receptors, Estrogen - drug effects; Signal Transduction - drug effects; Silybin; Silymarin - therapeutic use; Tumors; Veterinary medicine; Antineoplastic agent; P Glycoprotein; silybin; Review; Anticarcinogen; Veterinary medicine; Flavonoid; Vascularization; Angiogenesis; Polyphenol; Lignan; Neovascularization; Antiangiogenic agent; Mechanism of action; Carrier protein; Biological receptor; Transmembrane protein; receptors; Antiinflammatory agent; Biological activity; Cholesterol; P-glycoprotein; Silymarin; Silibinin; Inhibitor; anticancer activity; Antilipemic agent
• ISSN: 0929-8673; 1875-533X
• DOI: 10.2174/092986707779941159

This review critically surveys the literature published mainly within this millennium on the new and emerging applications of silybin (pure, chemically defined substance) and silymarin (flavonoid complex from Silybum marianum - milk thistle seeds). These compounds used so far mostly as hepatoprotectants were shown to have other interesting activities, e.g. anticancer and canceroprotective and also hypocholesterolemic activity. These effects were demonstrated in a large variety of illnesses of different organs, e.g. prostate, lungs, CNS, kidneys, pancreas and also in the skin protection. Besides the cytoprotective activity of silybin mediated by its antioxidative and radical-scavenging properties also new functions based on the specific receptor interaction were discovered. These were studied on the molecular level and modulation of various cell-signaling pathways with silybin was disclosed - e.g. NF-κ B, inhibition of EGFR-MAPK/ERK1/2 signaling, activity upon Rb and E2F proteins, IGF-receptor signaling. Proapoptotic activity of silybin in pre- and/or cancerogenic cells and anti-angiogenic activity of silybin are other important findings that bring silymarin preparations closer to respective application in the cancer treatment. Discovery of the inhibition and modulation of drug transporters, Pglycoproteins, estrogenic receptors, nuclear receptors by silybin and some of its new derivatives contribute further to the better understanding of silybin activity on the molecular level. Silymarin application in veterinary medicine is reviewed as well. Recent works using optically pure silybin diastereomers clearly indicate extreme importance of the use of optically active silybin namely in the receptor studies. Significance of silymarin and its components in the medicine is clearly indicated by an exponential growth of publications on this topic - over 800 papers in the last 5 years.