Rana P. Singh and team at U Colorado (Denver) have found that silibinin, the major active constituent of silymarin (Milk Thistle) , in mice inhibits lung tumor angiogenesis. They conclude that silibinin “merits investigation as a chemopreventive agent for suppressing lung cancer progression.”

Earlier work has shown that silibinin is helpful for liver toxicity, protects against kidney damage from chemotherapy, and inhibits prostate cancer growth in mice.

The effect of silibirin on prostate cancer cells is one of those stories where most of the research has been done over a number of years by one team, in this case led by Rana Singh at U Colorado. Would be nice to see confirmation from other labs. But silibinin is not going to be a money-tree. Milk Thistle is readily available in normal strengths.

Human trials of silibinin for the treatment of prostate cancer are underway at U. Colorado.
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