## 4 Discussion
Moreover, it should be hypothesized that depending on the agricultural conditions, the composition of seeds may differ, which may also influence the observed results. However, while analyzing the literature, it must be noted that milk thistle seeds contain linoleic acid and oleic acid and also \(\alpha\)-tocopherol and phenolic acids, such as vanillic acid, p-coumaric acid and silybin [63]. Therefore, it may be supposed that the effect observed in the current study may be attributed to various components including p-coumaric acid, which is an antioxidative and anti-inflammatory component, as it was stated by [PERSON] et al. [64] that it may modulate lipid metabolism, reducing observed disturbances. Similarly, in the study by [PERSON] et al. [65], it was observedthat p-coumaric acid improves triglyceride levels in the blood of rats after myocardial infarction. In another study, phenolic acids, from berries, including p-coumaric acid, were effective in reducing triglyceride accumulation in hepatocytes in the early stage of NAFLD [66]. In the current study, the triglyceride levels, after the experiment, were significantly lower than at baseline. This may be compared with the results of the study by [PERSON] et al. [21], as in their study, the group with type 2 diabetes mellitus received 200 mg of silymarin in the form of tablets 3 times a day, which caused a decrease in total cholesterol, LDL cholesterol, triglycerides and liver enzyme blood levels after 4 months of treatment. Similarly, in the study by [PERSON] et al. [67], conducted on a group of children aged 5-16 with NAFLD, using 5 mg of silymarin per kg of body mass (in the form of tablets) that was combined with lifestyle modifications for 12 weeks, triglyceride and liver enzyme blood levels were corrected, while neither LDL nor HDL cholesterol blood level changed. Such results are similar as those presented in the current study, and it may be supposed that triglyceride blood levels may be more prone to change after silymarin supply than cholesterol blood levels. In the current study, the applied daily dose of milk thistle seeds provided 210 mg of silymarin, while in the other studies, higher doses were applied to provide 280 mg of silymarin [68; 69; 70; 71], 1260 mg of silymarin [72] or 2100 mg of silymarin [72; 73]. Moreover, it should be noted that while the above-mentioned studies by [PERSON] et al. [21] and [PERSON] et al. [67] presented interventions based on silymarin extracts, the current study revealed that milk thistle seeds included in the diet may also be effective. It needs to be emphasized that some studies indicated, similarly to the current study, improved biochemical parameters of patients using silymarin even if their body mass reduction was not obtained, as it was observed by [PERSON] [74] for transaminase levels based on a number of studies [68; 69; 73; 75]. In the current study, no statistically significant effect on ALT level was observed, but at the same time, GGT and TG levels were significantly lower in spite of there being no significant reduction of body mass. This may have been caused by dietary changes that were associated with a choice of products that were different to those previously chosen, but that did not contribute to a lower energy value of diet, thereby not causing body mass reduction; however, when accompanied by silymarin supply, they may have supported the correction of some biochemical parameters. In spite of the fact that patients in the current study received specific dietary recommendations, their diet at baseline and after 3 months of treatment were comparable--the significant differences were observed neither for the nutritional value of the diet nor for the share of the group following the specific dietary recommendations.