Milk Thistle Extract

Milk thistle is also known by the names our lady's thistle, marian thistle, and wild artichoke. This plant is called milk thistle because the leaves of the plant have white veins that look as if milk was spilled upon them - according to legend, the milk of the virgin mary. Dioscorides wrote that milk thistle seeds could be used to treat snake bites. This plant is native to the mediterranean and grows wild throughout europe, north america and australia. Milk thistle has been used in europe as a remedy for liver problems for thousands of years. The seeds were consumed by european wet nurses to insure a healthy milk supply. The heads of this thistle formerly were eaten, boiled, treated like those of the artichoke.