[Changes in erythrocyte shape and volume caused by silymarin].

In vitro treatment of fresh human red cells with silymarin as well as its individual components silybin and silydianin (10(-4) and 10(-3) g/ml of water-soluble sodium or hemisuccinate sodium salt) resulted in disc-crenated sphere transformation of the erythrocyte shape, silydianin being least effective. 10(-4) g/ml of each compound tested, causing only slight changes of the shape of the erythrocytes, significantly increased their maximum diameter, whereas 10(-3) g/ml silymarin or silybin, resulting in a marked sphering of the cells, significantly decreased their maximum diameter. Mean cell volume in isotonic medium determined by Coulter counter method was significantly increased by 10(-3) g/ml silymarin, silybin, silydianin and, above all, chlorpromazin. 2 x 10(-5) g/ml chlorpromazine significantly increased the critical haemolytic volume in hypotonic medium, determined by microhaematocrit method, whereas an insignificant increase of the critical haemolytic volume was induced by 2.7 x 10(-4) g/ml silymarin.