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Open WellbeingWhat the studies actually measured

Liver, kidney and digestion

Silymarinand Aspartate aminotransferase (AST)

Three sources here, and they say different things: two measured lower aspartate aminotransferase (AST) and one found no clear difference.

How sure anyone can be

Moderate certainty, level 3 of 4

Further research may change this.

The most certain of the three findings here; each record carries its own.

The numbers reported

One source’s range, drawn against its own line of no difference and scaled to its own numbers.

-19.02-12.56-6.1

This range stays on one side of the no-difference line.

Bar the confidence interval — the range the true effect is likely to sit inNotch the number the source reportedLine where there would be no difference at all

Three sources, newest first

We do not pick between these or average them into one number.

What we read is the published abstract, not the full paper, so a blank below may still be printed in the paper itself. A fixed rule worked this out from the source’s own fields. Nobody checked this rating by hand.

  • Systematic review, 2025 · 4 studies pooled · 309 participants

    Very low certainty, level 1 of 4

    Silymarin for adults with metabolic dysfunction-associated steatotic liver disease.

    Cochrane Database Syst Rev. 2025;6(6):CD015524. doi:10.1002/14651858.CD015524.pub2. PMID:40552569.

    This source later carried a notice: Update of doi: 10.1002/14651858.CD015524. The number below is exactly as the source gave it.

    Number reported
    0.84
    Which way it went
    No clear difference
    Likely range
    -1.03 to 2.71
    Source’s own words
    U/L AST mean difference, silymarin COMPLEX vs no intervention or placebo (no pooled AST estimate exists for silymarin monotherapy: the review declined to meta-analyse it for considerable heterogeneity, I2 = 77%)
    Who was studied
    Adult with MASLD
    Compared with
    no intervention or placebo
    Amount taken
    Not in the abstract
    For how long
    28 to 336 days
    Disagreement between studies
    Monotherapy AST was not pooled: I2 = 77%
    Kind of record
    Journal article
    How this rating was reachedstarts at High, 3 steps down: risk of bias, imprecision and inconsistency
    1. Starts at High
    2. Risk of bias brought it down to Moderatethe abstract's own appraisal reports serious study limitationsReported in the abstract
    3. Imprecision brought it down to Lowthe confidence interval includes no effectReported in the abstract
    4. Inconsistency brought it down to Very lowheterogeneity across pooled studies is high (I² = 77%)Reported in the abstract
    5. Ends at Very low3 steps down.
    Checked, nothing to step it down for
    indirectness

    Imprecision stops at the first check that applies; others may apply too.

    AI review could not confirm it — an AI agent re-read this finding against the saved source and at least one check failed. The batch record names the check and quotes the sentence that caused the doubt. No person read it.

    Read the abstract on PubMed

  • Systematic review, 2024

    Moderate certainty, level 3 of 4

    Effects of silymarin use on liver enzymes and metabolic factors in metabolic dysfunction-associated steatotic liver disease: a systematic review and meta-analysis.

    Can Liver J. 2024;7(1):40-53. doi:10.3138/canlivj-2023-0021. PMID:38505782.

    Number reported
    -12.56
    Which way it went
    Lower
    Likely range
    -19.02 to -6.1
    Source’s own words
    U/L AST mean difference vs control (comparator arms not detailed in the abstract)
    Who was studied
    Adult with MASLD
    Compared with
    control (comparator arms not detailed in the abstract)
    Amount taken
    Not in the abstract
    For how long
    Not in the abstract
    Disagreement between studies
    Not in the abstract
    Kind of record
    Journal article
    How this rating was reachedstarts at High, one step down: imprecision
    1. Starts at High
    2. Imprecision brought it down to Moderatethe abstract does not state how many participants were pooledNot in the abstract
    3. Ends at ModerateOne step down.
    Checked, nothing to step it down for
    risk of bias and indirectness
    Inconsistency
    No disagreement reported, and no count of studies behind it

    Imprecision stops at the first check that applies; others may apply too.

    AI review could not confirm it — an AI agent re-read this finding against the saved source and at least one check failed. The batch record names the check and quotes the sentence that caused the doubt. No person read it.

    Read the abstract on PubMed

  • Systematic review, 2017

    Moderate certainty, level 3 of 4

    The therapeutic effect of silymarin in the treatment of nonalcoholic fatty disease: A meta-analysis (PRISMA) of randomized control trials.

    Medicine (Baltimore). 2017;96(49):e9061. doi:10.1097/MD.0000000000009061. PMID:29245314.

    Number reported
    -6.57
    Which way it went
    Lower
    Likely range
    -10.03 to -3.12
    Source’s own words
    U/L AST mean difference vs control (the source prints the unit as 'UI/L')
    Who was studied
    Adult with NAFLD
    Compared with
    control group (composition not stated in the abstract)
    Amount taken
    Not in the abstract
    For how long
    Not in the abstract
    Disagreement between studies
    Not in the abstract
    Kind of record
    Journal article
    How this rating was reachedstarts at High, one step down: imprecision
    1. Starts at High
    2. Imprecision brought it down to Moderatethe abstract does not state how many participants were pooledNot in the abstract
    3. Ends at ModerateOne step down.
    Checked, nothing to step it down for
    risk of bias and indirectness
    Inconsistency
    No disagreement reported, and no count of studies behind it

    Imprecision stops at the first check that applies; others may apply too.

    AI-reviewed & signed — an AI agent re-read this finding against the saved source and checked that the quote, the numbers, the units and the direction match it. No person read it. The owner authorised the agent to sign the batch with the owner's key, and every build rechecks that signature against these exact bytes.

    Read the abstract on PubMed

What is still missing from these readings

  • Two do not say how many people took part.
  • Amount taken — Not in the abstract.
  • For how long — Two of Three readings: Not in the abstract.

Something nobody wrote down is never a zero and never a guess.

Nothing left on our list for Silymarin

All 11 things on our list for Silymarin have been read. That is rare here.

Still to read means nobody here has got to it, not that it was tried and did nothing or that no research exists. A pairing on no list is not a gap: we never set out to read it.

Read next

This is a library, not advice. No recommendation, no dose, no diagnosis, no ranking. We never ask about your symptoms, and nothing here is tailored to you.