Variegated Thistle

Other common names are Blessed Milk Thistle, Marian Thistle, Mary Thistle, Saint Mary's Thistle, Mediterranean Milk Thistle and Scotch Thistle. This plant has many medicinal uses of it's ripe seeds: "In herbalism, it is used in cases of liver diseases (cirrhosis, jaundice and hepatitis), gallbladder disease,[citation needed] and is claimed to protect the liver against poisons. Its potent extract is used in medicine under the name silymarin (a flavonolignane complex consisting of silibinin A and B/silybin/silymarin I, isosilibinin A and B, silicristin/silymarin II, silidianin). Silibinin is used against poisoning by amanitas, such as the Death Cap (Amanita phalloides) as well as in cerebral edema and acute hepatitis therapy. Mary thistle has been grown as a medicinal plant in monastery gardens since ancient times. The seed is the part of the plant used medicinally. Silybum marianum extract has antifungal effects, preventing the growth of dermatophyte more than saprophyte fungi. One pilot study showed that milk thistle may be as effective as fluoxetine in treatment of obsessive-compulsive disorder."