Milk Thistle Seeds Research Articles

Protective effects of milk thistle (silybum marianum) seeds and sodium bentonite in ameliorating the toxic effects of aflatoxin b1 in broiler chicks

Background: Aflatoxin-contaminated feed cause mortality, suppression of the immune system, reduced growth rates and losses in feed efficiency. An experiment was conducted to evaluate the ability of different levels of sodium bentonite (SB), Silybummarianum seeds (SMS) and their combination for reducing the adverse effects of Aflatoxin B1 (AFB1) in broiler chicks.Materials and Methods: 224 male Ross 308 broiler chicks in a completely randomized design based on factorial experiment (2 × 2 × 2) with 2 levels AFB (0and 500ppb), 2 levels SMS (0 and 0.5%) and 2 levels SB (0 and 0.5%) with 8 treatments, 4 replicates and 7 chickens per each were used from one to 24 days age.Results: The results showed that compared with the control group, diets contaminated with AFB1 increased the aminotransferase (AST) and gammaglutamyl transferase (GGT) but decreased serum total protein (TP) and Albumin significantly (P≤0.05). SB with AFB caused a significant decrease in serum AST and lactate dehydrogenase (LDH) levels and increase Albumin significantly (P≤0.05). SMS with AFB causes a significant decrease in serum Urea, GGT and LDH levels significantly (P≤0.05). Broiler chickens fed diets containing SB, SMS and AFB1 their biochemical indices (AST, GGT, Albumin and total protein) were improved significantly compare to basal diet contaminated with aflatoxin (P≤0.05).Conclusion: The results showed that the combination of SB and the SMS were more beneficial as separate application of them for decreased toxic effect of Aflatoxin B1 in diets.

Silibinin suppresses astroglial activation in a mouse model of acute Parkinson׳s disease by modulating the ERK and JNK signaling pathways

Parkinson’s disease (PD) is the second-most common neurodegenerative disease after Alzheimer’s disease, and is characterized by dopaminergic neuronal loss in midbrain. The MPTP-induced PD model has been well characterized by motor deficits and selective dopaminergic neuronal death accompanied by glial activation. Silibinin is a constituent of silymarin, an extract of milk thistle seeds, and has been proposed to have hepatoprotective, anti-cancer, anti-oxidative, and neuroprotective effects. In the present study, the authors studied the neuroprotective effects of silibinin in an acute MPTP model of PD. Silibinin was administered for 2 weeks, and then MPTP was administered to mice over 1 day (acute MPTP induced PD). Silibinin pretreatment effectively ameliorated motor dysfunction, dopaminergic neuronal loss, and glial activations caused by MPTP. In addition, an in vitro study demonstrated that silibinin suppressed astroglial activation and ERK and JNK phosphorylation in primary astrocytes in response to MPP+ treatment. These findings show silibinin protected dopaminergic neurons in an acute MPTP-induced mouse model of PD, and suggest its neuroprotective effects might be mediated by the suppression of astrocyte activation via the inhibition of ERK and JNK phosphorylation. In conclusion, the study indicates silibinin should be viewed as a potential treatment for PD and other neurodegenerative diseases associated with neuroinflammation.

Abstract 902: RNA-Seq profiling of silibinin effects on bladder cancer cells

Abstract Silibinin is the major active constituent of silymarin, an extract of the milk thistle seeds, containing a mixture of flavonolignans such as silibinin and isosilibinin. Silibinin has been shown to have significant anti-cancer effects in a variety of cancer types, including bladder, kidney, prostate, skin, breast, lung and colon cancer. Silibinin (10 μM) significantly suppressed proliferation and invasion of T24 and UM-UC-3 bladder cancer cells. Western blot analysis showed that silibinin significantly reduces expression of vimentin and slug in these bladder cells. Vimentin is overexpressed in various cancers and is known to promote tumor growth, invasion, and poor prognosis. Slug, a transcriptional repressor which mediates epithelial to mesenchymal transition (EMT), has been implicated in tumor metastasis. These results indicate that silibinin inhibits proliferation and invasion by suppressing vimentin and slug in bladder cancer cells. We studed the anti-cancer effects of silibinin in bladder cancer cells using RNA-Seq, a transcriptome profiling technique that uses deep-sequencing to quantitatively investigate the global behavior of transcriptomes. We will discuss the RNA-Seq profiling of the anti-cancer effects of silibinin in bladder cancer cells, including the vimentin and slug networks. Citation Format: Soichiro Yamamura, Yozo Mitsui, Nathan Bucay, Sharanjot Saini, Shahana Majid, Guoren Deng, Varahram Shahryary, Rajvir Dahiya, Yuichiro Tanaka. RNA-Seq profiling of silibinin effects on bladder cancer cells. [abstract]. In: Proceedings of the 106th Annual Meeting of the American Association for Cancer Research; 2015 Apr 18-22; Philadelphia, PA. Philadelphia (PA): AACR; Cancer Res 2015;75(15 Suppl):Abstract nr 902. doi:10.1158/1538-7445.AM2015-902

Optimization and single-laboratory validation of a method for the determination of flavonolignans in milk thistle seeds by high-performance liquid chromatography with ultraviolet detection.

Seeds of milk thistle, Silybum marianum (L.) Gaertn., are used for treatment and prevention of liver disorders and were identified as a high priority ingredient requiring a validated analytical method. An AOAC International expert panel reviewed existing methods and made recommendations concerning method optimization prior to validation. A series of extraction and separation studies were undertaken on the selected method for determining flavonolignans from milk thistle seeds and finished products to address the review panel recommendations. Once optimized, a single-laboratory validation study was conducted. The method was assessed for repeatability, accuracy, selectivity, LOD, LOQ, analyte stability, and linearity. Flavonolignan content ranged from 1.40 to 52.86 % in raw materials and dry finished products and ranged from 36.16 to 1570.7 μg/mL in liquid tinctures. Repeatability for the individual flavonolignans in raw materials and finished products ranged from 1.03 to 9.88 % RSDr, with HorRat values between 0.21 and 1.55. Calibration curves for all flavonolignan concentrations had correlation coefficients of >99.8 %. The LODs for the flavonolignans ranged from 0.20 to 0.48 μg/mL at 288 nm. Based on the results of this single-laboratory validation, this method is suitable for the quantitation of the six major flavonolignans in milk thistle raw materials and finished products, as well as multicomponent products containing dandelion, schizandra berry, and artichoke extracts. It is recommended that this method be adopted as First Action Official Method status by AOAC International.

The effects of aflatoxin B1 and silymarin-containing milk thistle seeds on ileal morphology and digestibility in broiler chickens

This study investigated the effects of aflatoxin B1 (AFB1) and milk thistle seed (MTS) on some apparent ileal morphology and digestibility variables in the small intestines of broilers. A total of 216 Ross 308 male broiler chickens were allocated in a 3x3 factorial arrangement of the treatments with three concentration of AFB1 (0, 250, and 500 ppb) and three levels of MTS (0, 5, and 10 g kg-1). On day 35, the birds that received diets with 500 ppb of AFB1 alone (main effect) showed significant decrease in apparent ileal digestibility [dry matter (DM; 72.46±0.27), calcium (Ca; 40.81±1.11), crude protein (CP; 29.42±1.89), apparent digestible energy (2653±58.82)], ileal morphology [villus length (VL; 822.5±7.47), villus width (VW; 90.16±2.17) and ratio of VL to crypt depth (VL/CD; 4.74±0.07)] in their ileum segments (P<0.01). However, the mean nitrogen (N; 61.39±0.48) and crypt depth (CD; 173.5±9.87), in the ileum were significantly greater for the birds that were fed with 500 ppb AFB1 alone in their diets when compared with the control (P<0.01). Also, thistle seeds can ameliorate the toxic effects of AFB1 on some ileal digestibility factors, that is, DM, N, Ca, and CP, in broiler chicks. Nevertheless, ileum morphology of VW and goblet cell numbers were not affected negatively by the AFB1 plus MTS in diets. The results of this study indicated that the use of MTS independently reduced the toxic effects of AFB1, facilitated the absorption of nutrients, and reduced the metabolic demands of the intestinal tract in broiler chickens.

Silymarin Suppresses Cellular Inflammation By Inducing Reparative Stress Signaling.

Silymarin, a characterized extract of the seeds of milk thistle (Silybum marianum), suppresses cellular inflammation. To define how this occurs, transcriptional profiling, metabolomics, and signaling studies were performed in human liver and T cell lines. Cellular stress and metabolic pathways were modulated within 4 h of silymarin treatment: activation of Activating Transcription Factor 4 (ATF-4) and adenosine monophosphate protein kinase (AMPK) and inhibition of mammalian target of rapamycin (mTOR) signaling, the latter being associated with induction of DNA-damage-inducible transcript 4 (DDIT4). Metabolomics analyses revealed silymarin suppression of glycolytic, tricarboxylic acid (TCA) cycle, and amino acid metabolism. Anti-inflammatory effects arose with prolonged (i.e., 24 h) silymarin exposure, with suppression of multiple pro-inflammatory mRNAs and signaling pathways including nuclear factor kappa B (NF-κB) and forkhead box O (FOXO). Studies with murine knock out cells revealed that silymarin inhibition of both mTOR and NF-κB was partially AMPK dependent, whereas silymarin inhibition of mTOR required DDIT4. Other natural products induced similar stress responses, which correlated with their ability to suppress inflammation. Thus, natural products activate stress and repair responses that culminate in an anti-inflammatory cellular phenotype. Natural products like silymarin may be useful as tools to define how metabolic, stress, and repair pathways regulate cellular inflammation.

Supercritical CO2 extraction of oil, fatty acids and flavonolignans from milk thistle seeds: Evaluation of their antioxidant and cytotoxic activities in Caco-2 cells

The optimal conditions of supercritical carbon dioxide (SC-CO2) (160–220 bars, 40–80 °C) technology combined with co-solvent (ethanol), to recover oil, flavonolignans (silychristin, silydianin and silybinin) and fatty acids from milk thistle seeds, to be used as food additives and/or nutraceuticals, were studied. Moreover, the antioxidant and cytotoxic activities of the SC-CO2 oil seeds extracts were evaluated in Caco-2 carcinoma cells. Pressure and temperature had a significant effect on oil and flavonolignans recovery, although there was not observed a clear trend. SC-CO2 with co-solvent extraction at 220 bars, 40 °C was the optimum treatment to recover oil (30.8%) and flavonolignans from milk thistle seeds. Moreover, linoleic (47.64–66.70%), and oleic (19.68–24.83%) acids were the predominant fatty acids in the oil extracts recovered from milk thistle under SC-CO2. In addition, SC-CO2 extract showed a high antioxidant activity determined by DPPH and ABTS tests. Cytotoxic activities of silychristin, silydianin and silybinin and the obtained SC-CO2 extract (220 bars, 40 °C) were evaluated against Caco-2 cells. The SC-CO2 extract inhibited the proliferation of Caco-2 cells in a dose-responsive manner and induced the highest percentage of mortality of Caco-2 cells (from 43 to 71% for concentrations from 10 up to 100 μg/ml of SC-CO2 oil seeds)

Identification of cellular protein targets of silymarin-derived flavonolignans

Silymarin, an extract of the seeds of milk thistle [Silybum marianum (L.) Gaertn. (Asteraceae)] protects liver cells from virus infection, oxidative stress, and inflammation. It was hypothesized that silymarin provides hepatoprotection by binding to cellular proteins. The hypothesis was addressed by establishing an affinity-based system for capturing, identifying, and validating the cellular proteins bound by the flavonolignan mixture silibinin, a major bioactive component of silymarin. Diazirine or diphenylketone photoreactive groups and alkyne or azide moieties were chemically engineered onto eleven derivatives of silybin A or silibinin. Toxicity and anti-hepatitis C virus (HCV) activity testing of probes on human hepatoma cells indicated that all probes had antiviral activity that was separable from compound-induced toxicity. Probes were then used to capture cellular proteins from hepatoma cells. Mass spectrometry and statistical filtering revealed 26 putative cellular protein targets, which specifically bound to a photoaffinity probe. Binding of the probe to protein targets was dose-dependently inhibited by silybin A. Descriptions of the putative targets, along with chemical validation of the interaction of silibinin with the targets, will be presented. The approach should permit further unraveling of the complex biology arising when cells encounter natural products.

Fatty acid and triacylglycerol compositions of milk thistle seeds growing wild in Tunisia (Silybum marianum L.)

The milk thistle plant grows in many regions in Tunisia; however, there is no literature regarding their oil composition. In this study, oil content, fatty acids and triacylglycerols compositions of milk thistle seeds growing wild in Tunisia were determined. The oil content was 30.5%, thus milk thistle seeds could be exploited as natural new source of oil. Among the fatty acids, linoleic acid had the highest percentage (59.98%) followed by oleic acid (21.26%) and palmitic acid (12.74%). The extracted oil from milk thistle seeds is rich in polyunsaturated fatty acids (60.37%). Various molecular species of TAGs were detected and the major forms were LLL (22.30%), OLL (20.40%), PLL (17.31%), POL (14.30%), and OOL (7.90%). It can be concluded that milk thistle seed oil has a characteristic TAG pattern as compared with these elucidated for olive oil and soybean oil.

Autophagy induction by silibinin positively contributes to its anti-metastatic capacity via AMPK/mTOR pathway in renal cell carcinoma.

Silibinin, a dietary cancer chemopreventive flavonoid from the seeds of milk thistle, has been reported to exhibit anti-metastatic effects on renal cell carcinoma (RCC), but the mechanism underlying this phenomenon is not fully understood. The present study aimed at examining the potential role of autophagy in regulating silibinin-induced anti-metastatic effects on RCC cells. Using RCC ACHN and 786-O cells as a model system in vitro, we found that silibinin treatment increased the expression of LC3-II, resulted in the formation of autophagolysosome vacuoles, and caused a punctate fluorescence pattern with the monomeric red fluorescence protein-enhanced green fluorescence protein-LC3 (mRFP-EGFP-LC3) protein, which all are markers for cellular autophagy. Autophagy flux was induced by silibinin in RCC cells, as determined by LC3 turnover assay. Mechanically, the adenosine 5'-monophosphate activated protein kinase (AMPK)/mammalian target of rapamycin (mTOR) pathway was identified as involved in regulation of silibinin-induced autophagy. Furthermore, autophagy induction was demonstrated to positively contribute to silibinin-induced anti-metastatic effects on RCC cells in vitro. Activation of autophagy enhanced silibinin-induced inhibition of migration and invasion of RCC cells, while inhibition of autophagy attenuated it. These findings thus provide new information about the potential link between autophagy and metastasis inhibition induced by silibinin, and the induction of autophagy may shed some light into future treatment strategies for metastatic RCC.

Extraction of oil and silybin compounds from milk thistle seeds using supercritical carbon dioxide

Milk thistle is a plant that has been used medicinally for over 2000 years. It has been used for the treatment of many diseases such as cancer, liver, kidney, cardiac, brain. Their seeds are rich in silymarin compounds (especially silybin A and silybin B) and fatty acids. The purpose of this study was to extract silybin A and silybin B from milk thistle seeds with the supercritical CO2. The effect of operating parameters such as temperature (40–80°C), pressure (160–220bar), CO2 flow rate (3, 4 and 5mL/min) and particle size (0.3025, 0.925 and 1.2mm) on extracted oil, silybin A and silybin B were investigated. Fatty acid composition in milk thistle seed extract was determined at optimum conditions. The results indicated that the optimal conditions were 40°C temperature, 200bar pressure, 4mL/min CO2 flow rate and 0.3025mm particle size. In these conditions; the amounts of oil, silybin A and silybin B were obtained 327, 2.29 and 1.92mg/g milk thistle seeds respectively. For the fatty acids obtained by supercritical CO2 extraction, the most abundant compounds were palmitic acid (8.15%); stearic acid (5.51%), oleic acid (24.10%); linoleic acid (54.97%) at optimum conditions.

Accumulation of silymarin in milk thistle seeds under drought stress.

According to the results obtained in this study, drought stress can enhance the accumulation of silymarin in milk thistle seeds. Moreover, under drought stress, the share of silybin increased which possess the greatest degree of biological activity among the silymarin components. Silymarin, an isomeric mixture of flavonolignans found in milk thistle (Silybum marianum (L.) Gaertn) seeds, has been used for its hepatoprotective effects for more than 2,000years. Biosynthesis and accumulation of active substances like silymarin in plant tissues highly interacts with the environmental conditions. Effects of moderate and severe drought stress (based on soil moisture depletion) on silymarin content and composition in milk thistle seeds were evaluated in a field study. Averaged across treatments, milk thistle seeds contained 19.3gkg(-1) silymarin. Drought stress enhanced silymarin accumulation in milk thistle seeds. Plants grown under moderate and severe drought stress treatments contained 4 and 17% greater silymarin than those grown in well-watered condition, respectively. Greater content of sylimarin in stressed plants was attributed to more contents of silybin, isosilybin and silychristin, while silydianin content was lower under drought condition. According to the results obtained in this study, drought stress enhanced accumulation of silymarin in milk thistle seeds and improved its quality by increasing the share of silybin, which possess the greatest degree of biological activity among the silymarin components.

Silibinin prevents dopaminergic neuronal loss in a mouse model of Parkinson's disease via mitochondrial stabilization.

Parkinson's disease (PD) is a progressive neurodegenerative disease characterized by the selective loss of dopaminergic neurons in the nigrostriatal pathway. The lipophile 1-methyl-4-phenyl-1,2,3,6-tetrahydropyridine (MPTP) can cross the blood-brain barrier and is subsequently metabolized into toxic1-methyl-4-phenylpyridine (MPP(+) ), which causes mitochondrial dysfunction and the selective cell death of dopaminergic neurons. The present article reports the neuroprotective effects of silibinin in a murine MPTP model of PD. The flavonoid silibinin is the major active constituent of silymarin, an extract of milk thistle seeds, and is known to have hepatoprotective, anticancer, antioxidative, and neuroprotective effects. In the present study, silibinin effectively attenuated motor deficit and dopaminergic neuronal loss caused by MPTP. Furthermore, in vitro study confirmed that silibinin protects primary cultured neurons against MPP(+) -induced cell death and mitochondrial membrane disruption. The findings of the present study indicate that silibinin has neuroprotective effects in MPTP-induced models of PD rather than antioxidative or anti-inflammatory effects and that the neuroprotection afforded might be mediated by the stabilization of mitochondrial membrane potential. Furthermore, these findings suggest that silibinin protects mitochondria in MPTP-induced PD models and that it offers a starting point for the development of treatments that ameliorate the symptoms of PD.

Silybin, a flavonolignan from milk thistle seeds, restrains the early and advanced glycation end product modification of albumin

Silybin exhibited a protective effect towards the non-enzymatic glycation mediated structure functional changes in albumin.

Effects of seed priming on catalase activity and storage reservoirs of aged milk thistle seeds (Silybum marianum (L.) Gaertn)

Tohum yaşlandırma ve önuygulamanın meryemana dikeni tohumlarına etkisini belirlemek üzere tesadüf parselleri deneme deseninde ve 3 tekerrürlü bir deneme yürütülmüştür. Önuygulamaları, su önuygulaması (damıtık su) ve tuz önuygulaması (% 0, 1.5, 3, 4.5 ve 6 KNO3 ), tohum yaşlandırmayı ise 45 °C ve % 100 oransal neme sahip ortamda bekletme (0, 48, 96 ve 144 saat) oluşturmuştur. Bu çalışmada, çimlenme yüzdesi, ortalama çimlenme süresi, fide boyu, fide kuru ağırlığı, tohum rezervi kullanım oranı (SRUR), tohum rezerv kullanım etkinliği (SRUE), kullanılan tohum rezervi fraksiyonu (FUSR), katalaz aktivitesi (CAT), fide ve kotiledon sodyum, potasyum, kalsiyum ve sodyum içeriği ve sodyumun potasyuma oranı belirlenmiştir. Sonuçlar; tohum önuygulamalarının çimlenme yüzdesini, fide boyunu ve kuru ağırlığını artırıp ortalama çimlenme süresini azaltırken, tohum yaşlandırmanın çimlenme süresi dışında tüm bu özellikleri azalttığını göstermiştir. En kısa ortalama çimlenme süresi ve en yüksek çimlenme oranı, fide boyu ve kuru ağırlık değerlerine % 3 ve % 1.5’lik KNO3 ile tohum yaşlandırma uygulamalarında ulaşılmıştır. Tohum yaşlandırma uygulamaları katalaz aktivitesini azaltmış ve % 3’lük KNO3 önuygulamasında ise en yüksek katalaz aktivitesi değerine ulaşılmıştır. Tohum yaşlandırma uygulamaları SRUR değerini artırırken, SRUE ve FSUR değerlerinde düzenli bir azalışa neden olmuştur. En yüksek SRUR değerine su önuygulamasında ulaşılırken en yüksek SRUE ve FSUR değerlerine % 3’lük KNO3 önuygulamasında ulaşılmıştır. Tohum yaşlandırma, fide ve kotiledonun Na+ içeriğini ve Na+/ K+ oranını artırırken, K+ ve Ca2+ içeriğini azaltmıştır. Genel olarak, önuygulamalar çimlenme yüzdesini artırıp, fide gelişimi, rezerv performansı ve katalaz aktivitesini iyileştirirken, Tohum yalandırma hücrelerden element yıkanmasını azaltmıştır.

Irrigation Regime and Organic Fertilizers Influence on Oil Content and Fatty Acid Composition of Milk Thistle Seeds

Milk thistle (Silybum marianum L. Gaertn.) seeds contain relatively high amounts of edible oil. Influences of irrigation regime (full irrigation, moderate deficit, and severe deficit irrigation) and organic fertilizers (vermicompost [VM] and poultry manure [PM]) on the oil content and fatty acid (FA) composition of milk thistle seed were evaluated in a field trial. Averaged across treatments, seed oil content was 27% whereas unsaturated FAs constituted 78% of the oil composition. Linoleic acid (41.4%) and oleic acid (35.1%) were the most abundant unsaturated FAs whereas palmitic, stearic, arachidic, and behinic acids were major saturated FAs. Oil content was significantly influenced by irrigation regimes, but not by organic fertilizers. Severe deficit irrigation reduced oil content by 7.4% compared with full irrigation. Deficit irrigation had a minor effect on the FA composition of milk thistle oil where total unsaturated fatty acids (UFA) was lower in stressed plants. The application of soil organic amendments did not induce significant changes in unsaturated fatty acids but reduced the content of saturated ones which totally imposed positive effects on oil quality of milk thistle. According to the results, it seems that milk thistle has potential to be considered as an oil seed crop in low‐input agricultural systems in arid and semiarid areas and moderate deficit irrigation can be implemented without deleterious effects on its oil content and quality.

Antioxidative activity of Silibum marianum cultivated in Mongolia

Silibum marianum (Milk thistle) contains high amount of phenolic compounds with antioxidant properties. The aim of this work was to evaluate the antioxidant activity of phenolic compounds included in Milk thistle. The antioxidant properties of the leaves and seeds of milk thistle were examined by determining its ability to scavenge the 2,2-diphenyl-1-picrylhydrazyl (DPPH) free radical. The results obtained from DPPH assay confirm that Milk thistle extracts have high antioxidative activity.DOI: http://doi.dx.org/10.5564/mjc.v15i0.323 Mongolian Journal of Chemistry 15 (41), 2014, p53-55

Silibinin and its 2,3-dehydro-derivative inhibit basal cell carcinoma growth via suppression of mitogenic signaling and transcription factors activation.

Basal cell carcinoma (BCC) is the most common cancer worldwide, and its current treatment options are insufficient and toxic. Surprisingly, unlike several other malignancies, chemopreventive efforts against BCC are almost lacking. Silibinin, a natural agent from milk thistle seeds, has shown strong efficacy against several cancers including ultraviolet radiation-induced skin (squamous) cancer; however, its potential activity against BCC is not yet examined. Herein, for the first time, we report the efficacy of silibinin and its oxidation product 2,3-dehydrosilibinin (DHS) against BCC both in vitro and in vivo using ASZ (p53 mutated) and BSZ (p53 deleted) cell lines derived from murine BCC tumors. Both silibinin and DHS significantly inhibited cell growth and clonogenicity while inducing apoptosis in a dose- and time-dependent manner, with DHS showing higher activity at lower concentrations. Both agents also inhibited the mitogenic signaling by reducing EGFR, ERK1/2, Akt, and STAT3 phosphorylation and suppressed the activation of transcription factors NF-κB and AP-1. More importantly, in an ectopic allograft model, oral administration of silibinin and DHS (200 mg/kg body weight) strongly inhibited the ASZ tumor growth by 44% and 71% (P < 0.05), respectively, and decreased the expression of proliferation biomarkers (PCNA and cyclin D1) as well as NF-κB p50 and c-Fos in the tumor tissues. Taken together, these results provide the first evidence for the efficacy and usefulness of silibinin and its derivative DHS against BCC, and suggest the need for additional studies with these agents in pre-clinical and clinical BCC chemoprevention and therapy models.

Physical and mechanical properties of milk thistle seeds

Physical and mechanical properties of medicinal plants and agricultural products are important for the design of harvesting and processing equipment. In this paper, the physical and mechanical properties of milk thistle were investigated. The physical properties that were measured included dimensions (big, medium and small diameters), aspect ratio, geometric mean diameter, arithmetic means diameter, projected area, surface area, sphericity, moisture, density and porosity. Their averages were found to be 6.52 mm, 3.13 mm, 1.81 mm, 48.15%, 3.33 mm, 3.82 mm, 13.65 mm2, 88.04 mm2, 51%, 6.87%, 0.77 g/cm3 and 87.5%, respectively. Mechanical properties such as modulus of elasticity, maximum force that the fruit can support, work associated with this force, deformation under compression loading and hardness were investigated and their average values were found to be 0.49 GPa, 136.41 N, 64.39 N.mm, 0.77 mm and 215.96 N/mm, respectively. The coefficient of static friction of samples was measured on three surfaces (...

Evaluation of blood chemical, lipids profile and immune response on broiler chicks fed with milk thistle (Silybum marianum L.) and thyme (Thymus vulgaris L.) seeds in south-eastern-Iran

This study was conducted to investigate the effects of supplementation of milk thistle seeds (MTS) and thyme seeds (TS) on blood chemical, lipid profile and immune response in broiler chicks. In this study, 160 one-day-old chicks (Ross 308) were allocated to four treatments with four replicates based on a completely randomized design in a 2×2 factorial arrangement. The treatment groups were (A) basal control diet, (B) basal diet with 0.2 g/kg of MTS, (C) basal diet with 0.2 g/kg of TS and (D) basal diet with 0.2 g/kg of MTS and 0.2 g/kg of TS. Birds fed the (D) supplemented treatment (MTS plus TS) had the greatest levels of total protein, 4.26±0.27 g/L; albumin, 2.21±0.02 g/L; globulin 2.28±0.23 g/L; and aspartate aminotransferase (AST) activity, 152.18±4.46 U/L than the control birds [group (A)] (P&lt;0.05). MTS alone or in combination with TS reduced the cholesterol in the serum of the broilers (P&lt;0.05), and this effect was more pronounced for the (C) treatment (TS alone) (P&lt;0.05). Treatment consumption with MTS plus TS [group (D)] significantly increased the concentration of high-density lipoprotein cholesterol (HDL-C), 90.32±2.28 mmol/L, but low-density lipoprotein cholesterol (LDL-C), 10.44±0.07 mmol/L, and triglyceride concentrations, 60.75±2.65 mmol/L, were decreased compared to control (P&lt;0.05). However, none of the immunity parameters and liver enzymes differed significantly in MTS or TS groups. The present research indicated that supplements of MTS and TS have a protective influence on the lipids profile, total protein, globulin, albumin and AST levels in broiler chicks.