Trial reportLipids in health and disease2024
Silymarin decreases liver stiffness associated with gut microbiota in patients with metabolic dysfunction-associated steatotic liver disease: a randomized, double-blind, placebo-controlled trial.
Trial report in Lipids in health and disease, 2024. The graph could read no effect estimate from its abstract, so it casts no vote on the map. Cited by 22 papers, 2 of them syntheses that pooled it.
What it found
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The abstract states no effect estimate the extractor could read, or names no intervention and outcome on the map, so this paper lights no cell and moves no belief. It is still indexed, cited and linked below.
The trial behind it
Trials whose registry record cites this paper, or whose number appears in the abstract. A trial that started after this paper was published is citing it as background, not reporting it.
Neither the registry nor the abstract names a trial number. If this is a trial report, that itself is worth knowing.
Who cites it
22 citing papers in PubMed, 2 syntheses or guidelines pooled it.
- [Construction norms for the tiered diagnosis and treatment and standardized management center of metabolic-associated fatty liver disease].Zhonghua gan zang bing za zhi = Zhonghua ganzangbing zazhi = Chinese journal of hepatology · 2026Guideline
- Pooled it
- Advances in pharmacological interventions for hepatic fibrosis: from pathogenic mechanisms to novel therapeutic targets.Annals of medicine · 2026Review
- Intrapartum caesarean delivery and childhood BMI trajectories in relation to the infant gut microbiome in the VDAART prospective birth cohort.EBioMedicine · 2026Article
- Phytochemicals in MASLD: A Focused Review of Gut Microbiome-Linked Mechanisms.Phytotherapy research : PTR · 2026Review
- Effect of Short-Chain Fatty Acids In Vivo on the Treatment of CCLBiomedicines · 2026Article
- The therapeutic potential of botanicals: how medicinal plants targeting autophagy can reverse metabolic-associated fatty liver disease.Frontiers in pharmacology · 2026Review
- Article
- Ferroptosis: A Novel Mechanism and Therapeutic Target of Traditional Chinese Medicine for Metabolic Dysfunction-Associated Steatotic Liver Disease.Journal of inflammation research · 2026Review
- Comparative Efficacy of Herbal Products for Improving Liver Enzymes and Inflammation in Metabolic Dysfunction-Associated Steatotic Liver Disease: A Systematic Review and Network Meta-Analysis.Gastro hep advances · 2026Review
- Daixie recipe ameliorates diet-induced MASH in miceFrontiers in endocrinology · 2026Article
- Roles of short-chain fatty acids in metabolic dysfunction-associated steatotic liver disease and metabolic dysfunction-associated steatohepatitis.World journal of hepatology · 2025Review
- Hepatoprotective Effect of Silymarin Herb in Prevention of Liver Dysfunction Using Pig as Animal Model.Nutrients · 2025Review
- Diet and Lifestyle Interventions in Metabolic Dysfunction-Associated Fatty Liver Disease: A Comprehensive Review.International journal of molecular sciences · 2025Review
- Food Nutrients and Bioactive Compounds for Managing Metabolic Dysfunction-Associated Steatotic Liver Disease: A Comprehensive Review.Nutrients · 2025Review
- A Comprehensive Review of Metabolic Dysfunction-Associated Steatotic Liver Disease: Its Mechanistic Development Focusing on Methylglyoxal and Counterbalancing Treatment Strategies.International journal of molecular sciences · 2025Review
- Natural Bioactive Compounds in the Management of Type 2 Diabetes and Metabolic (Dysfunction)-Associated Steatotic Liver Disease.Pharmaceuticals (Basel, Switzerland) · 2025Review
- Nutritional Strategies for Battling Obesity-Linked Liver Disease: the Role of Medical Nutritional Therapy in Metabolic Dysfunction-Associated Steatotic Liver Disease (MASLD) Management.Current obesity reports · 2025Review
- Silibinin-derived microbiota enrich (R)-2,3-dihydroxy-isovalerate and ameliorate colitis via the GAT-3/RARβ/RORγt axis.The ISME journal · 2025Article
- Flavonoids as modulators of gut-liver axis: emerging therapeutic strategies for MAFLD.Frontiers in pharmacology · 2025Review
Corrections and comments
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Authors and funding
13 authors.
Funding
No grant is acknowledged in the PubMed record.
Abstract
backgroundDespite centuries of traditional use of silymarin for hepatoprotection, current randomized controlled trial (RCT) studies on the effectiveness of silymarin in managing metabolic dysfunction-associated steatotic liver disease (MASLD) are limited and inconclusive, particularly when it is administered alone. The low bioavailability of silymarin highlights the possible influence of gut microbiota on the effectiveness of silymarin; however, no human studies have investigated this aspect.
objectiveTo determine the potential efficacy of silymarin in improving MASLD indicators and to investigate the underlying mechanisms related to gut microbiota.
methodIn this 24-week randomized, double-blind, placebo-controlled trial, 83 patients with MASLD were randomized to either placebo (n = 41) or silymarin (103.2 mg/d, n = 42). At 0, 12, and 24 weeks, liver stiffness and hepatic steatosis were assessed using FibroScan, and blood samples were gathered for biochemical detection, while faecal samples were collected at 0 and 24 weeks for 16S rRNA sequencing.
resultsSilymarin supplementation significantly reduced liver stiffness (LSM, -0.21 ± 0.17 vs. 0.41 ± 0.17, P = 0.015) and serum levels of γ-glutamyl transpeptidase (GGT, -8.21 ± 3.01 vs. 1.23 ± 3.16, P = 0.042) and ApoB (-0.02 ± 0.03 vs. 0.07 ± 0.03, P = 0.023) but had no significant effect on the controlled attenuation parameter (CAP), other biochemical indicators (aminotransferases, total bilirubin, glucose and lipid parameters, hsCRP, SOD, and UA), physical measurements (DBP, SBP, BMI, WHR, BF%, and BMR), or APRI and FIB-4 indices. Gut microbiota analysis revealed increased species diversity and enrichment of Oscillospiraceae in the silymarin group.
conclusionThese findings suggest that silymarin supplementation could improve liver stiffness in MASLD patients, possibly by modulating the gut microbiota.
trial registrationThe trial was registered at the Chinese Clinical Trial Registry (ChiCTR2200059043).
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Read under generation 80e0d062 · epoch 390. Bibliography from PubMed, PubMed Central and OpenAlex; grants from NIH RePORTER; trial links from ClinicalTrials.gov; estimates, votes and beliefs from the Socratic graph.