Planta Med 1989; 55(5): 420-422
DOI: 10.1055/s-2006-962056
Papers

© Georg Thieme Verlag Stuttgart · New York

Selectivity of Silymarin on the Increase of the Glutathione Content in Different Tissues of the Rat

Alfonso Valenzuela, Mónica Aspillaga, Soledad Vial, Ricardo Guerra
  • Unidad de Bioquímica Farmacológica, Instituto de Nutrición y Tecnología de los Alimentos, Universidad de Chile, Casilla 15138, Santiago 11, Chile
Further Information

Publication History

1988

Publication Date:
24 January 2007 (online)

Abstract

Silymarin, a flavonoid extracted from the seeds of the milk thistle, Silybum marianum, increases the redox state and the total glutathione content of the liver, intestine, and stomach of the rat. The same treatment does not affect the levels of the tripeptides in the kidney, lung, and spleen. This selective effect of the flavonoid on the digestive organs is ascribed to its pharmacokinetics on the digestive track, where the biliary concentration of silymarin is increased and maintained via the entero-hepatic circulation.