Database Query Results : Silymarin (Milk Thistle) silibinin, , TGF-β

SIL, Silymarin (Milk Thistle) silibinin: Click to Expand ⟱
Features:
Silymarin (Milk Thistle) Flowering herb related to daisy and ragweed family.
Silibinin (INN), also known as silybin is the major active constituent of silymarin, a standardized extract of the milk thistle seeds.
-a flavonoid combination of 65–80% of seven flavolignans; the most important of these include silybin, isosilybin, silychristin, isosilychristin, and silydianin. Silybin is the most abundant compound in around 50–70% in isoforms silybin A and silybin B

-Note half-life 6hrs?.
BioAv not soluble in water, low bioAv (1%). 240mg yielded only 0.34ug/ml plasma level. oral administration of SM (equivalent to 120 mg silibinin), total (unconjugated + conjugated) silibinin concentration in plasma was 1.1–1.3 μg/mL, so can not achieve levels used in most in-vitro studies.
Pathways:
- results for both inducing and reducing ROS in cancer cells. In normal cell seems to consistently lower ROS. Reports show both ROS↑ and ROS↓ in cancer models; systemic pro-oxidant effects may require higher exposures than typical oral dosing, but local or combination contexts may differ. (level in GUT could be much higher (800uM).
- ROS↑ related: MMP↓(ΔΨm), Ca+2↑, Cyt‑c↑, Caspases↑, DNA damage↑, cl-PARP↑,
- Raises AntiOxidant defense in Normal Cells: ROS↓, NRF2↑, SOD↑, GSH↑, Catalase↑,
- lowers Inflammation : NF-kB↓, COX2↓, p38↓(context-dependent; often stress-activated), Pro-Inflammatory Cytokines : NLRP3↓, IL-1β↓, TNF-α↓, IL-6↓, IL-8↓
- inhibit Growth/Metastases : TumMeta↓, TumCG↓, EMT↓, MMPs↓, MMP2↓, MMP9↓, TIMP2, uPA↓, VEGF↓, FAK↓, NF-κB↓, CXCR4↓, TGF-β↓, α-SMA↓, ERK↓
- reactivate genes thereby inhibiting cancer cell growth : HDAC↓, DNMTs↓, P53↑, HSP↓,
- cause Cell cycle arrest : TumCCA↑, cyclin D1↓, cyclin E↓, CDK2↓, CDK4↓,
- inhibits Migration/Invasion : TumCMig↓, TumCI↓, TNF-α↓, FAK↓, ERK↓, EMT↓,
- inhibits glycolysis and ATP depletion : HIF-1α↓, PKM2↓, cMyc↓, GLUT1↓, LDH↓, LDHA↓, HK2↓, PFKs↓, GRP78↑(ER stress), Glucose↓, GlucoseCon↓
- inhibits angiogenesis↓ : VEGF↓, HIF-1α↓, Notch↓, PDGF↓, EGFR↓,
- inhibits Cancer Stem Cells : CSC↓, Hh↓, GLi1↓, β-catenin↓, Notch2↓, OCT4↓,
- Others: PI3K↓, AKT↓, JAK↓, STAT↓, Wnt↓, β-catenin↓, AMPK, ERK↓, JNK, - SREBP (related to cholesterol).
- Synergies: chemo-sensitization, chemoProtective, RadioSensitizer, RadioProtective, Others(review target notes), Neuroprotective, Cognitive, Renoprotection, Hepatoprotective, CardioProtective,

- Selectivity: Cancer Cells vs Normal Cells

Rank Pathway / Axis Cancer Cells Normal Cells TSF Primary Effect Notes / Interpretation
1 ROS / redox buffering + mitochondrial protection Often ↑ stress susceptibility; can support apoptosis when survival signaling is blocked ↓ oxidative stress; mitochondrial protection P, R, G Context-selective redox modulation Silymarin is classically cytoprotective/antioxidant in normal tissues (notably liver), while in tumors it can weaken pro-survival adaptation and increase vulnerability to stressors and therapy.
2 Intrinsic apoptosis (mitochondria → caspases) ↑ apoptosis signaling; ↑ caspase activation ↔ minimal activation G Cell death execution Common downstream outcome in cancer models: apoptosis increases after earlier signaling/redox shifts and/or checkpoint disruption.
3 Cell-cycle control (cyclins/CDKs; checkpoints) ↑ arrest (G1/S or G2/M depending on model) ↔ G Cytostasis Typically observed as reduced proliferation with checkpoint engagement; timing usually later than kinase phosphorylation changes.
4 NF-κB inflammatory transcription ↓ NF-κB activity; ↓ inflammatory/pro-survival tone ↔ or protective anti-inflammatory effect R, G Anti-inflammatory / anti-survival transcription NF-κB suppression can reduce tumor-promoting inflammation and blunt stress-adaptive survival programs.
5 JAK/STAT3 axis (incl. PD-L1 / immune escape programs in some models) ↓ STAT3 signaling (context); may ↓ PD-L1 in certain tumor contexts ↔ R, G Reduced survival + immune-evasion signaling Reported to attenuate STAT3-driven tumor programs and, in some contexts, reduce immune-suppressive signaling (model dependent).
6 PI3K → AKT → mTOR survival / growth signaling ↓ PI3K/AKT/mTOR signaling (context) ↔ R, G Growth/survival suppression Reduced PI3K/AKT/mTOR tone increases sensitivity to apoptosis and can reinforce cell-cycle arrest.
7 MAPK re-wiring (ERK/p38/JNK balance) Stress-MAPK shifts; ERK tone often reduced or re-patterned ↔ P, R, G Signal reprogramming Early phosphorylation shifts can precede later gene-expression changes; exact ERK direction is model and dose dependent.
8 Angiogenesis (VEGF and angiogenic factors) ↓ VEGF / angiogenesis outputs ↔ G Anti-angiogenic support Typically reflected in reduced pro-angiogenic expression/secretion and angiogenesis-related phenotypes over longer windows.
9 EMT / invasion / migration programs (incl. TGF-β/Smad-associated EMT in some systems) ↓ EMT markers; ↓ migration/invasion ↔ G Anti-invasive phenotype Often presents as restoration of epithelial markers and suppression of migration/invasion assays; commonly a later phenotype-level outcome.
10 Xenobiotic handling (Phase I/II enzymes; cytoprotection / chemoprevention framing) May alter carcinogen activation/detox balance ↑ detox / cytoprotection against xenobiotics G Chemopreventive protection A key “dual strategy” theme: protection of normal tissue from toxins/therapy while modulating tumor response pathways.
11 Drug resistance / efflux (MDR phenotype; P-gp-related resistance in some models) May ↓ functional MDR and ↑ chemo sensitivity (context) ↔ R, G Chemo-sensitization support Reported synergy with chemotherapy in resistant tumor settings; transporter direction can be context-specific, so present as “reported to reduce functional resistance” rather than a universal single-transporter claim.
12 Immune microenvironment signaling (cytokines / macrophage recruitment in some models) May ↓ pro-tumor cytokine programs and recruitment signals (context) ↔ G Anti-inflammatory tumor microenvironment shift Immune-modulatory effects are increasingly discussed, but they are more model-dependent and typically show on longer time scales.

Time-Scale Flag (TSF): P / R / G

  • P: 0–30 min (primary/physical–chemical effects; rapid signaling / phosphorylation shifts)
  • R: 30 min–3 hr (redox signaling + acute stress-response signaling)
  • G: >3 hr (gene-regulatory adaptation and phenotype-level outcomes)
TGF-β, transforming growth factor-beta: Click to Expand ⟱
Source: HalifaxProj(inhibit) CGL-CS TCGA
Type:
Human malignancies frequently exhibit mutations in the TGF-β pathway, and overactivation of this system is linked to tumor growth by promoting angiogenesis and inhibiting the innate and adaptive antitumor immune responses.
Anti-inflammatory cytokine.
In normal tissues, TGF-β plays an essential role in cell cycle regulation, immune function, and tissue remodeling.
- In early carcinogenesis, TGF-β typically acts as a tumor suppressor by inhibiting cell proliferation and inducing apoptosis.

In advanced cancers, cells frequently become resistant to the growth-inhibitory effects of TGF-β.
- TGF-β then switches roles and promotes tumor progression by stimulating epithelial-to-mesenchymal transition (EMT), cell invasion, metastasis, and immune evasion.

Non-canonical (Smad-independent) pathways, such as MAPK, PI3K/Akt, and Rho signaling, also contribute to TGF-β-mediated responses.

Elevated levels of TGF-β have been detected in many advanced-stage cancers, including breast, lung, colorectal, pancreatic, and prostate cancers.
 - The switch from a tumor-suppressive to a tumor-promoting role is often associated with increased TGF-β production and activation in the tumor microenvironment.

High TGF-β expression or signaling activity is frequently correlated with aggressive disease features, resistance to therapy, increased metastasis, and poorer overall survival in many cancer types.
Scientific Papers found: Click to Expand⟱
3294- SIL,    Silymarin: a review on paving the way towards promising pharmacological agent
- Review, Nor, NA - Review, Arthritis, NA
*hepatoP↑, It improves hepatic function, lessens hepatotoxicity caused by high acetaminophen intake, and can lessen oxidative stress in experimental mice, according to a study on animals
*Inflam↓,
*chemoP↑, moreover reducing the side effect of chemotherapeutic agents.
*glucose↓, Silymarin is effective anti-diabetic as it lowers serum glucose levels thus preventing the development of diabetic nephropathy
*antiOx↑, Various studies revealed that Silymarin could exert antioxidant properties in several mechanisms, which includes direct hindrance in free radical production,
*ROS↓,
*ACC↓, down-regulation of acetyl-CoA carboxylase, fatty acid synthase, and peroxisome proliferator-activated receptor
*FASN↓,
*radioP↑, More studies have revealed radioprotective properties of Silymarin in the testis tissues of mice and rats
*NF-kB↓, Silymarin inhibits NF-kB, down-regulates TGF-ß1 mRNA
*TGF-β↓,
*AST↓, Silymarin significantly decreased the elevation of aspartate aminotransferase (AST), alanine aminotransferase, and alkaline phosphatase in serum, and also reversed the altered expressions of α-smooth muscle actin in fibrotic tissue
*α-SMA↝,
*eff↑, Okda et al.[Citation76] currently reported that silymarin with ginger has significantly decreased the severity and incidence of liver fibrosis.
*neuroP↑, Researchers demonstrated that silymarin inhibits microglia activation, and protects dopaminergic neurons from lipopolysaccharide (LPS)-induced neurotoxicity
eff↑, The Silymarin with a selenium dose of 570 mg/d, for 6 months caused no side effects and was effective in reducing prostate cancer growth
ROS↓, Silymarin shows anti-cancerous properties considered to be linked to oxidative stress inhibition, apoptosis induction, growth cycle arrest, and mitochondrial pathway inhibition

3282- SIL,    Role of Silymarin in Cancer Treatment: Facts, Hypotheses, and Questions
- Review, NA, NA
hepatoP↑, This group of flavonoids has been extensively studied and they have been used as hepato-protective substances
AntiCan↑, however, silymarin compounds have clear anticancer effects
TumCMig↓, decreasing migration through multiple targeting, decreasing hypoxia inducible factor-1α expression, i
Hif1a↓, In prostate cancer cells silibinin inhibited HIF-1α translation
selectivity↑, antitumoral activity of silymarin compounds is limited to malignant cells while the nonmalignant cells seem not to be affected
toxicity∅, long history of silymarin use in human diseases without toxicity after prolonged administration.
*antiOx↑, as an antioxidant, by scavenging prooxidant free radicals
*Inflam↓, antiinflammatory effects similar to those of indomethacin,
TumCCA↑, MDA-MB 486 breast cancer cells, G1 arrest was found due to increased p21 and decreased CDKs activity
P21↑,
CDK4↓,
NF-kB↓, human prostate carcinoma cells, silymarin decreased ligand binding to Erb1 135 and NF-kB expression was strongly inhibited by silymarin in hepatoma cell
ERK↓, human prostate carcinoma cells, silymarin decreased ligand binding to Erb1 135 and NF-kB expression was strongly inhibited by silymarin in hepatoma cell
PSA↓, Treating prostate carcinoma cells with silymarin the levels of PSA were significantly decreased and cell growth was inhibited through decreased CDK activity and induction of Cip1/p21 and Kip1/p27. 1
TumCG↓,
p27↑,
COX2↓, such as anti-COX2 and anti-IL-1α activity, 140 antiangiogenic effects through inhibition of VEGF secretion, upregulation of Insulin like Growth Factor Binding Protein 3 (IGFBP3), 141 and inhibition of androgen receptors.
IL1↓,
VEGF↓,
IGFBP3↑,
AR↓,
STAT3↓, downregulation of the STAT3 pathway which was seen in many cell models.
Telomerase↓, silymarin has the ability to decrease telomerase activity in prostate cancer cells
Cyt‑c↑, mitochondrial cytochrome C release-caspase activation.
Casp↑,
eff↝, Malignant p53 negative cells show only minimal apoptosis when treated with silymarin. Therefore, one conclusion is that silymarin may be useful in tumors with conserved p53.
HDAC↓, inhibit histone deacetylase activity;
HATs↑, increase histone acetyltransferase activity
Zeb1↓, reduce expression of the transcription factor ZEB1
E-cadherin↑, increase expression of E-cadherin;
miR-203↑, increase expression of miR-203
NHE1↓, reduce activation of sodium hydrogen isoform 1 exchanger (NHE1)
MMP2↓, target β catenin and reduce the levels of MMP2 and MMP9
MMP9↓,
PGE2↓, reduce activation of prostaglandin E2
Vim↓, suppress vimentin expression
Wnt↓, inhibit Wnt signaling
angioG↓, Silymarin inhibits angiogenesis.
VEGF↓, VEGF downregulation
*TIMP1↓, Silymarin has the capacity to decrease TIMP1 expression166–168 in mice.
EMT↓, found that silibinin had no effect on EMT. However, the opposite was found in other malignant tissues160–162 where it showed inhibitory effects.
TGF-β↓, Silibinin reduces the expression of TGF β2 in different tumors such as triple negative breast, 174 prostate, and colorectal cancers.
CD44↓, Silibinin decreased CD44 expression and the activation of EGFR (epidermal growth factor receptor)
EGFR↓,
PDGF↓, silibinin had the ability to downregulate PDFG in fibroblasts, thus decreasing proliferation.
*IL8↓, Flavonoids, in general, reduce levels of IL-8. Curcumin, 200 apigenin, 201 and silybin showed the ability to decrease IL-8 levels
SREBP1↓, Silymarin inhibited STAT3 phosphorylation and decreased the expression of intranuclear sterol regulatory element binding protein 1 (SREBP1), decreasing lipid synthesis.
MMP↓, reduced membrane potential and ATP content
ATP↓,
uPA↓, silibinin decreased MMP2, MMP9, and urokinase plasminogen activator receptor level (uPAR) in neuroblastoma cells. uPAR is also a marker of cell invasion.
PD-L1↓, Silibinin inhibits PD-L1 by impeding STAT5 binding in NSCLC.
NOTCH↓, Silybin inhibited Notch signaling in hepatocellular carcinoma cells showing antitumoral effects
*SIRT1↑, Silymarin can also increase SIRT1 expression in other tissues, such as hippocampus, 221 articular chondrocytes, 222 and heart muscle
SIRT1↓, Silymarin seems to act differently in tumors: in lung cancer cells SIRT downregulated SIRT1 and exerted multiple antitumor effects such as reduced adhesion and migration and increased apoptosis.
CA↓, Silymarin has the ability to inhibit CA isoforms CA I and CA II.
Ca+2↑, ilymarin increases mitochondrial release of Ca++ and lowers mitochondrial membrane potential in cancer cell
chemoP↑, Silymarin: Decreasing Side Effects and Toxicity of Chemotherapeutic Drugs
cardioP↑, There is also evidence that it protects the heart from doxorubicin toxicity, however, it is less potent than quercetin in this effect.
Dose↝, oral administration of 240 mg of silybin to 6 healthy volunteers the following results were obtained 377 : maximum\,plasmaconcentration0.34±0.16⁢𝜇⁢g/m⁢L
Half-Life↝, and time to maximum plasma concentration 1.32 ± 0.45 h. Absorption half life 0.17 ± 0.09 h, elimination half life 6.32 ± 3.94 h
BioAv↓, silymarin is not soluble in water and oral administration shows poor absorption in the alimentary tract (approximately 1% in rats,
BioAv↓, Our conclusion is that, from a bioavailability standpoint, it is much easier to achieve migration inhibition, than proliferative reduction.
BioAv↓, Combination with succinate: is available on the market under the trade mark Legalon® (bis hemisuccinate silybin). Combination with phosphatidylcholine:
toxicity↝, 13 g daily per os divided into 3 doses was well tolerated. The most frequent adverse event was asymptomatic liver toxicity.
Half-Life↓, It may be necessary to administer 800 mg 4 times a day because the half-life is short.
ROS↓, its ability as an antioxidant reduces ROS production
FAK↓, Silibinin decreased human osteosarcoma cell invasion through Erk inhibition of a FAK/ERK/uPA/MMP2 pathway

3301- SIL,    Critical review of therapeutic potential of silymarin in cancer: A bioactive polyphenolic flavonoid
- Review, Var, NA
Inflam↓, graphical abstract
TumCCA↑,
Apoptosis↓,
TumMeta↓,
TumCG↓,
angioG↓,
chemoP↑, The chemo-protective effects of silymarin and silibinin propose that they could be applied to decrease the side effects and increase the anti-tumor effects of chemotherapy and radiotherapy in different types of cancers.
radioP↑,
p‑ERK↓, fig 2
p‑p38↓,
p‑JNK↓,
P53↑,
Bcl-2↓,
Bcl-xL↓,
TGF-β↓,
MMP2↓,
MMP9↓,
E-cadherin↑,
Wnt↓,
Vim↓,
VEGF↓,
IL6↓,
STAT3↓,
*ROS↓,
IL1β↓,
PGE2↓,
CDK1↓, Causes cell cycle arrest by down-regulating CDK1, cyclinB1, survivin, Bcl-xl, Mcl-1 and activating caspase 3 and caspase 9,
CycB/CCNB1↓,
survivin↓,
Mcl-1↓,
Casp3↑,
Casp9↑,
cMyc↓, Silibinin treatment diminishes c-MYC
COX2↓, Silibinin considerably down-regulated the expression of COX-2, HIF-1α, VEGF, Ang-2, Ang-4, MMP-2, MMP-9, CCR-2 and CXCR-4
Hif1a↓,
CXCR4↓,
CSCs↓, HCT-116 cells, Induction of apoptosis, suppression of migration, elimination of CSCs. Attenuation of EMT via decreased expression of N- cadherin and vimentin and increased expression of (E-cadherin).
EMT↓,
N-cadherin↓,
PCNA↓, Decrease in PCNA and cyclin D1 level.
cycD1/CCND1↓,
ROS↑, Hepatocellular carcinoma: Silymarin nanoemulsion reduced the cell viability and increased ROS intensity and chromatin condensation.
eff↑, Silymarin + Curcumin
eff↑, Silibinin + Metformin
eff↑, Silibinin + 1, 25-vitamin D3
HER2/EBBR2↓, Significant down regulation of HER2 by 150 and 250 µM of silybin after 24, 48 and 72 h.


* indicates research on normal cells as opposed to diseased cells
Total Research Paper Matches: 3

Pathway results for Effect on Cancer / Diseased Cells:


Redox & Oxidative Stress ⓘ

ROS↓, 2,   ROS↑, 1,  

Mitochondria & Bioenergetics ⓘ

ATP↓, 1,   MMP↓, 1,  

Core Metabolism/Glycolysis ⓘ

cMyc↓, 1,   SIRT1↓, 1,   SREBP1↓, 1,  

Cell Death ⓘ

Apoptosis↓, 1,   Bcl-2↓, 1,   Bcl-xL↓, 1,   Casp↑, 1,   Casp3↑, 1,   Casp9↑, 1,   Cyt‑c↑, 1,   p‑JNK↓, 1,   Mcl-1↓, 1,   p27↑, 1,   p‑p38↓, 1,   survivin↓, 1,   Telomerase↓, 1,  

Kinase & Signal Transduction ⓘ

HER2/EBBR2↓, 1,  

Transcription & Epigenetics ⓘ

HATs↑, 1,  

DNA Damage & Repair ⓘ

P53↑, 1,   PCNA↓, 1,  

Cell Cycle & Senescence ⓘ

CDK1↓, 1,   CDK4↓, 1,   CycB/CCNB1↓, 1,   cycD1/CCND1↓, 1,   P21↑, 1,   TumCCA↑, 2,  

Proliferation, Differentiation & Cell State ⓘ

CD44↓, 1,   CSCs↓, 1,   EMT↓, 2,   ERK↓, 1,   p‑ERK↓, 1,   HDAC↓, 1,   IGFBP3↑, 1,   NOTCH↓, 1,   STAT3↓, 2,   TumCG↓, 2,   Wnt↓, 2,  

Migration ⓘ

CA↓, 1,   Ca+2↑, 1,   E-cadherin↑, 2,   FAK↓, 1,   miR-203↑, 1,   MMP2↓, 2,   MMP9↓, 2,   N-cadherin↓, 1,   PDGF↓, 1,   TGF-β↓, 2,   TumCMig↓, 1,   TumMeta↓, 1,   uPA↓, 1,   Vim↓, 2,   Zeb1↓, 1,  

Angiogenesis & Vasculature ⓘ

angioG↓, 2,   EGFR↓, 1,   Hif1a↓, 2,   VEGF↓, 3,  

Barriers & Transport ⓘ

NHE1↓, 1,  

Immune & Inflammatory Signaling ⓘ

COX2↓, 2,   CXCR4↓, 1,   IL1↓, 1,   IL1β↓, 1,   IL6↓, 1,   Inflam↓, 1,   NF-kB↓, 1,   PD-L1↓, 1,   PGE2↓, 2,   PSA↓, 1,  

Hormonal & Nuclear Receptors ⓘ

AR↓, 1,  

Drug Metabolism & Resistance ⓘ

BioAv↓, 3,   Dose↝, 1,   eff↑, 4,   eff↝, 1,   Half-Life↓, 1,   Half-Life↝, 1,   selectivity↑, 1,  

Clinical Biomarkers ⓘ

AR↓, 1,   EGFR↓, 1,   HER2/EBBR2↓, 1,   IL6↓, 1,   PD-L1↓, 1,   PSA↓, 1,  

Functional Outcomes ⓘ

AntiCan↑, 1,   cardioP↑, 1,   chemoP↑, 2,   hepatoP↑, 1,   radioP↑, 1,   toxicity↝, 1,   toxicity∅, 1,  
Total Targets: 92

Pathway results for Effect on Normal Cells:


Redox & Oxidative Stress ⓘ

antiOx↑, 2,   ROS↓, 2,  

Core Metabolism/Glycolysis ⓘ

ACC↓, 1,   FASN↓, 1,   glucose↓, 1,   SIRT1↑, 1,  

Migration ⓘ

TGF-β↓, 1,   TIMP1↓, 1,   α-SMA↝, 1,  

Immune & Inflammatory Signaling ⓘ

IL8↓, 1,   Inflam↓, 2,   NF-kB↓, 1,  

Drug Metabolism & Resistance ⓘ

eff↑, 1,  

Clinical Biomarkers ⓘ

AST↓, 1,  

Functional Outcomes ⓘ

chemoP↑, 1,   hepatoP↑, 1,   neuroP↑, 1,   radioP↑, 1,  
Total Targets: 18

Scientific Paper Hit Count for: TGF-β, transforming growth factor-beta
3 Silymarin (Milk Thistle) silibinin
Query results interpretion may depend on "conditions" listed in the research papers.
Such Conditions may include : 
  -low or high Dose
  -format for product, such as nano of lipid formations
  -different cell line effects
  -synergies with other products 
  -if effect was for normal or cancerous cells

Filter Conditions: Pro/AntiFlg:%  IllCat:%  CanType:%  Cells:%  prod#:154  Target#:304  State#:%  Dir#:%
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