Milk Thistle: From Liver Herb to Acne Treatment
Milk thistle (silymarin) is a flowering herb that is related to other medicinal plants such as Echinacea, Calendula, Grindelia, and Yarrow. It originates from the Mediterranean and is known among botanists as Silybum Marianum of the Asteraceae family. The rest of the people call it so many different ways that we won't have enough space to list them all: Mediterranean thistle, cardus marianus, milk thistle, blessed milk thistle, Marian thistle, Mary's thistle, St. Mary's thistle, etc. Most of these names are inspired by the legend that the white veins on the leaves of the plant appeared because of the Virgin Mary's breast milk. The history of milk thistle can be traced back to Ancient Rome and Ancient Greece. Even then, the plant was famous as a herb...