title: Chemistry of silybin.
abstract: Silybin, a secondary metabolite isolated from the seeds of the blessed milk thistle (Silybum marianum) was discovered as the first member of a new family of natural compounds called flavonolignans in 1959. Over the years it has received the research attention of many organic chemists. This research has resulted in a number of semisynthetic derivatives prepared in an effort to modulate and better target the biological activities of silybin or to improve its physical properties, such as its solubility. A fundamental breakthrough in silybin chemistry was the determination of the absolute configurations of silybin A and silybin B, and the development of methods for their separation. This review covers articles dealing with silybin chemistry and also summarizes all the derivatives prepared.
authors: Institute of Microbiology AS CR, Centre of Biocatalysis and Biotransformation, Vídeňská 1083, Prague 4, CZ 14220, Czech Republic. kren@biomed.cas.cz.
authors: D
authors: D
authors: Biedermann
authors: E
authors: E
authors: Vavříková
authors: L
authors: L
authors: Cvak
authors: V
authors: V
authors: Křen
mesh_terms: D020944:Silybum marianum / Q000737:chemistry*; D015394:Molecular Structure; D012639:Seeds / Q000737:chemistry; D000077385:Silybin; D012838:Silymarin / Q000737:chemistry* / Q000302:isolation & purification / Q000494:pharmacology
chemical_list: D012838:Silymarin; D000077385:Silybin