Milk thistle is commonly found growing wild in a variety of settings, including roadsides. The dried fruit (also called achenes) are used to produce modern herbal extracts.
The dried fruit of milk thistle contain a flavonoid complex known as silymarin. This constituent is responsible for the medical benefits of the plant.1 Silymarin is made up of three parts: silibinin, silidianin, and silicristin. Silibinin is the most active and is largely responsible for the benefits attributed to silymarin.2
Milk thistle is commonly found growing wild in a variety of settings, including roadsides. The dried fruit (also called achenes) are used to produce modern 
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