Effects of silymarin supplementation on blood lipids: A systematic review and meta-analysis of clinical trials

Abstract

Dyslipidemia is a leading cause of endothelial dysfunction and cardiovascular disease. Several studies used silymarin as an herbal supplement in hyperlipidemic subjects. The aim of the present systematic review and meta-analysis was to examine the effect of silymarin supplementation on blood lipids. PubMed, Scopus, Ovid (Cochrane library), ISI Web of Science, and Google Scholar were systematically searched until March 2018 to find intervention studies that examined the impact of silymarin supplementation on blood lipids in adults. Changes in blood lipids and potential sources of between-study variation were extracted. We run a subgroup analysis to determine potential sources of inter-study heterogeneity. Ten clinical trials fulfilled the eligibility criteria. Meta-analysis indicated that silymarin supplementation in combination with other treatments (not silymarin alone) reduced total cholesterol (change: -25.45mg/dl; 95 confidence interval CI -47.89, -3.01mg/dl) and low-density lipoprotein (change: -28.25mg/dl; 95% CI -53.09, -3.42mg/dl). Also, silymarin increased high-density lipoprotein concentration (change: 4.82mg/dl; 95% CI 2.01, 7.63mg/dl). Blood concentration of triglyceride was significantly after silymarin supplementation in comparison with controls (change: -22.55mg/dl; 95% CI -44.32, -0.78mg/dl). Present systematic review and meta-analysis revealed that silymarin supplementation in combination with other treatments had a favorable effect on blood lipids.