title: Effects of Silymarin on Diabetes Mellitus Complications: A Review.
abstract: Diabetes mellitus is a common metabolic disorder that is caused by a deficit in the production of (type 1) or response to (type 2) insulin. Diabetes mellitus is characterized by a state of chronic hyperglycemia and such symptoms as weight loss, thirst, polyuria, and blurred vision. These disturbances represent one of the major causes of morbidity and mortality nowadays, despite available treatments, such as insulin, insulin secretagogues, insulin sensitizers, and oral hypoglycemic agents. However, many efforts have been made to discover new drugs for diabetes treatment, including medicinal plant extracts. Silymarin is a powder extract of the seeds from Silybum marianum, a plant from the Asteraceae family. The major active ingredients include four isomers: silybin, isosilybin, silychristin, and silydianin. Silymarin is indicated for the treatment of hepatic disorders, such as cirrhosis, chronic hepatitis, and gallstones. Moreover, several studies of other pathologies, including diabetes, sepsis, osteoporosis, arthritis, hypercholesterolemia, cancer, viral infections, and Alzheimer's and Parkinson's diseases, have tested the effects of silymarin and reported promising results. This article reviews data from clinical, in vivo, and in vitro studies on the use of silymarin, with a focus on the complications of diabetes, including nephropathy, neuropathy, healing delays, oxidative stress, hepatotoxicity, and cardiomyopathy. Copyright © 2017 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.
authors.affiliation: Department of Pharmacology, Federal University of Paraná, Curitiba, PR, Brazil.
authors.forename: Aline Maria
authors.initials: AM
authors.lastname: Stolf
authors.affiliation: Department of Pharmacology, Federal University of Paraná, Curitiba, PR, Brazil.
authors.forename: Cibele Campos
authors.initials: CC
authors.lastname: Cardoso
authors.affiliation: Department of Pharmacology, Federal University of Paraná, Curitiba, PR, Brazil.
authors.forename: Alexandra
authors.identifier: http://orcid.org/0000-0003-3977-687X
authors.initials: A
authors.lastname: Acco
mesh_terms: D000818:Animals; D048909:Diabetes Complications / Q000188:drug therapy*; D003920:Diabetes Mellitus / Q000188:drug therapy; D006801:Humans; D008103:Liver Cirrhosis / Q000188:drug therapy; D008107:Liver Diseases / Q000188:drug therapy; D008659:Metabolic Diseases / Q000188:drug therapy; D020944:Silybum marianum / Q000737:chemistry; D018384:Oxidative Stress / Q000187:drug effects; D012639:Seeds / Q000737:chemistry; D012838:Silymarin / Q000494:pharmacology* / Q000627:therapeutic use*
chemical_list: D012838:Silymarin
keywords: diabetes; healing; hepatopathy; neuropathy; silybin; silymarin