There was no significant change in the γGT levels .
Significant differences were not found .
CONCLUSION Silymarin minimally reduced , but without clinical relevance , the serum levels of ALT and AST .
AIM To evaluate the effect of silymarin on the serum levels of alanine aminotransferase ( ALT ) , aspartate aminotransferase ( AST ) and gamma glutamyl transpeptidase ( γGT ) in patients with liver diseases .
The Pharmacokinetics of Silymarin Is Altered in Patients with Hepatitis C Virus and Nonalcoholic Fatty Liver Disease and Correlates with Plasma Caspase-3/7 Activity
Silymarin , used by 30 to 40 % of liver disease patients , is composed of six major flavonolignans , each of which may contribute to silymarin 's hepatoprotective properties . Previous studies have only described the pharmacokinetics for two flavonolignans , silybin A and silybin B , in healthy volunteers . The aim of this study was to determine the pharmacokinetics of the major silymarin flavonolignans in liver disease patients . Healthy volunteers and three patient cohorts were administered a single , 600-mg p.o . dose of milk thistle extract , and 14 blood sample s were obtained over 24 h. Silybin A and B accounted for 43 % of the exposure to the sum of total silymarin flavonolignans in healthy volunteers and only 31 to 38 % in liver disease cohorts as a result of accumulation of silychristin ( 20–36 % ) . Area under the curve ( AUC0–24h ) for the sum of total silymarin flavonolignans was 2.4- , 3.3- , and 4.7-fold higher for hepatitis C virus ( HCV ) noncirrhosis , nonalcoholic fatty liver disease ( p ≤ 0.03 ) , and HCV cirrhosis cohorts ( p ≤ 0.03 ) , respectively , compared with healthy volunteers ( AUC0–24h = 2021 ng · h/ml ) . Caspase-3/7 activity correlated with the AUC0–24h for the sum of all silymarin conjugates among all subjects ( R2 = 0.52 ) and was 5-fold higher in the HCV cirrhosis cohort ( p ≤ 0.005 versus healthy ) . No correlation was observed with other measures of disease activity , including plasma alanine aminotransferase , interleukin 6 , and 8-isoprostane F2α , a measure of oxidative stress . These findings suggest that the pharmacokinetics of silymarin is altered in patients with liver disease . Patients with cirrhosis had the highest plasma caspase-3/7 activity and also achieved the highest exposures for the major silymarin flavonolignans
There was no significant change in the γGT levels .
Significant differences were not found .
CONCLUSION Silymarin minimally reduced , but without clinical relevance , the serum levels of ALT and AST .
AIM To evaluate the effect of silymarin on the serum levels of alanine aminotransferase ( ALT ) , aspartate aminotransferase ( AST ) and gamma glutamyl transpeptidase ( γGT ) in patients with liver diseases .