Chemical Standardization of Milk Thistle (Silybum marianum L.) Extract Using UHPLC-MS/MS and the Method of Standard Addition

A new paper from the HESI Botanical Safety Consortium describes the development and validation of a novel method for quantifying the constituents in milk thistle extracts to ensure consistency and reliability in efficacy and toxicity research.

Milk thistle has been used for its purported hepatoprotective properties and other reported health benefits. Given that it is a complex mixture, there is product-to-product and even lot-to-lot variability in terms of chemical constituents and their quantification. There is a need for a reliable and validated method to chemically quantify the constituents of milk thistle extracts to ensure consistency and reproducibility across preclinical and clinical studies, ultimately leading to better health outcomes and informed consumer choices.

HESI Botanical Safety Consortium member Dr. Richard Van Breemen and his lab have developed and tested a UHPLC-MS/MS method for accurately measuring and standardizing flavonolignans in milk thistle extracts, ensuring their chemical consistency and authenticity for reliable use in studies. This analysis was determined to be fit-for-purpose for use in the chemical standardization of milk thistle extracts intended for preclinical and clinical investigation.

Read the full paper here:
Chemical Standardization of Milk Thistle (Silybum marianum L.) Extract Using UHPLC-MS/MS and the Method of Standard Addition. Muchiri et al., 2024. Journal of the American Society for Mass Spectrometry. https://doi.org/10.1021/jasms.4c00125