Milk thistle's technical name, Marianum, derives from a legend that its leaf veins turned white after being touched by a drop of the Virgin Mary's breast milk. Perhaps this is why many European wet nurses used milk thistle in their diets, believing that the cooked leaves increased lactation. By the 19th century, German doctors were using a tincture made from milk thistle seeds to treat jaundice and other liver diseases. It protects against liver harm by toxic chemicals such as carbon tetrachloride and praseodymium nitrate. It inhibits the formation of liver damaging leukotrienes, inflammatory compounds produced when oxygen interacts with polyunsaturated fatty acids.
Milk thistle inhibits the enzyme lipoxygenase, which catalyzes the formation of leukotrienes.
It stimulates protein synthesis, which results in an increase in the production of new liver cells to replace damaged old ones. Milk thistle is also useful for women who take hormones like estrogen, which can often contribute to a sluggishly performing liver. So while no easy cure can solve liver distress, this strange-looking herb does offer regenerative hope.