Department of Pharmaceutical Sciences, Maharshi Dayanand University, Rohtak 124001, Haryana, India.
Institute of Pharmaceutical Sciences, Kurukshetra University, Kurukshetra 136119, Haryana, India.
Molecules. 2022 Aug 21;27(16):5327. doi: 10.3390/molecules27165327.
Medicinal plants are considered the reservoir of diverse therapeutic agents and have been traditionally employed worldwide to heal various ailments for several decades. Silymarin is a plant-derived mixture of polyphenolic flavonoids originating from the fruits and akenes of and contains three flavonolignans, silibinins (silybins), silychristin and silydianin, along with taxifolin. Silybins are the major constituents in silymarin with almost 70-80% abundance and are accountable for most of the observed therapeutic activity. Silymarin has also been acknowledged from the ancient period and is utilized in European and Asian systems of traditional medicine for treating various liver disorders. The contemporary literature reveals that silymarin is employed significantly as a neuroprotective, hepatoprotective, cardioprotective, antioxidant, anti-cancer, anti-diabetic, anti-viral, anti-hypertensive, immunomodulator, anti-inflammatory, photoprotective and detoxification agent by targeting various cellular and molecular pathways, including MAPK, mTOR, β-catenin and Akt, different receptors and growth factors, as well as inhibiting numerous enzymes and the gene expression of several apoptotic proteins and inflammatory cytokines. Therefore, the current review aims to recapitulate and update the existing knowledge regarding the pharmacological potential of silymarin as evidenced by vast cellular, animal, and clinical studies, with a particular emphasis on its mechanisms of action.
药用植物被认为是各种治疗剂的宝库，几十年来，它们一直被全球各地用于治疗各种疾病。水飞蓟素是一种源自 和 的果实和瘦果的多酚类黄酮植物混合物，包含三种黄酮醇木脂素，水飞蓟宾（水飞蓟宾）、水飞蓟宁和水飞蓟亭，以及 taxifolin。水飞蓟宾是水飞蓟素中的主要成分，含量几乎为 70-80%，并负责大部分观察到的治疗活性。水飞蓟素从古代就已被认识，并在欧洲和亚洲传统医学体系中用于治疗各种肝脏疾病。现代文献表明，水飞蓟素被广泛用作神经保护剂、肝保护剂、心脏保护剂、抗氧化剂、抗癌剂、抗糖尿病剂、抗病毒剂、抗高血压剂、免疫调节剂、抗炎剂、光保护剂和解毒剂，通过靶向各种细胞和分子途径，包括 MAPK、mTOR、β-catenin 和 Akt、不同的受体和生长因子，以及抑制许多酶和几种凋亡蛋白和炎症细胞因子的基因表达。因此，本综述旨在总结和更新水飞蓟素的药理学潜力的现有知识，这些知识来自广泛的细胞、动物和临床研究，特别强调其作用机制。
