SynthesisEuropean journal of clinical microbiology & infectious diseases : official publication of the European Society of Clinical Microbiology2013
Meta-analysis: silymarin and its combination therapy for the treatment of chronic hepatitis B.
Synthesis in European journal of clinical microbiology & infectious diseases : official publication of the European Society of Clinical Microbiology, 2013. The graph could read no effect estimate from its abstract, so it casts no vote on the map. Cited by 15 papers, 4 of them syntheses that pooled it.
What it found
Each row is one number read from the abstract, on the scale the paper reported it, with its interval. Left of the dashed line favours the treatment, right favours the comparator. Under each row is the sentence it came from. New to these charts? A ten-minute tutorial.
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
15 citing papers in PubMed, 4 syntheses or guidelines pooled it, 27 citations in OpenAlex.
- Silymarin for adults with metabolic dysfunction-associated steatotic liver disease.The Cochrane database of systematic reviews · 2025Pooled it
- Natural products and dietary interventions on liver enzymes: an umbrella review and evidence map.Frontiers in nutrition · 2024Pooled it
- Current Status of Herbal Medicines in Chronic Liver Disease Therapy: The Biological Effects, Molecular Targets and Future Prospects.International journal of molecular sciences · 2015Pooled it
- Overview and recent trends of systematic reviews and meta-analyses in hepatology.Clinical and molecular hepatology · 2014Pooled it
- GGV formula attenuates CClFrontiers in nutrition · 2025Article
- Silymarin Synergizes with Antiviral Therapy in Hepatitis B Virus-Related Liver Cirrhosis: A Propensity Score Matching Multi-Institutional Study.International journal of molecular sciences · 2024Article
- Flavonoids in natural products for the therapy of liver diseases: progress and future opportunities.Frontiers in pharmacology · 2024Review
- Changes in Glutathione Content in Liver Diseases: An Update.Antioxidants (Basel, Switzerland) · 2021Review
- Silymarin/Silybin and Chronic Liver Disease: A Marriage of Many Years.Molecules (Basel, Switzerland) · 2017Review
- Hepatitis B and its Relationship With Oxidative Stress.Hepatitis monthly · 2016Review
- San Huang Shel Shin Tang beta-cyclodextrin complex augmented the hepatoprotective effects against carbon tetrachloride-induced acute hepatotoxicity in rats.BMC complementary and alternative medicine · 2016Article
- Efficacy of Hepatoprotective Agents With or Without Antiviral Drugs on Liver Function and Fibrosis in Patients With Hepatitis B: A Meta-Analysis.Hepatitis monthly · 2015Article
- In vitro effects on biofilm viability and antibacterial and antiadherent activities of silymarin.Folia microbiologica · 2015Article
- Herb-drug interactions: challenges and opportunities for improved predictions.Drug metabolism and disposition: the biological fate of chemicals · 2014Article
- The therapeutic potential of milk thistle in diabetes.The review of diabetic studies : RDS · 2014Review
Corrections and comments
PubMed lists nothing against this paper. Absence here is not a guarantee, only a check that was made.
Authors and funding
8 authors at 3 institutions in 1 country.
Funding
No grant is acknowledged in the PubMed record.
Abstract
Silymarin is used by many patients with chronic hepatitis B, but its efficacy remains unknown. The aim of this investigation was to conduct a meta-analysis to determine the efficacy and safety of silymarin and its combination therapy for the treatment of chronic hepatitis B. We searched Chinese and English reports from January 1966 to December 2011, using 12 databases. Two reviewers independently screened all reports to identify randomized placebo-controlled trials that evaluated silymarin and its combination therapy for the treatment of chronic hepatitis B. Twelve trials satisfied the eligibility criteria for this meta-analysis. Silymarin was equivalent to antiviral drug or protection liver drugs in serum transaminases, viral load and hepatic fibrosis markers. But silymarin combined with antiviral drug or antiviral drug and protection liver drugs significantly reduced the level of serum transaminases, hepatic fibrosis markers and serum TGF-β1, TNF-α, IL-6 versus antiviral drug or protection liver drugs. Silymarin combined with protection liver drugs significantly reduced the level of serum transaminases, TBIL, hepatic fibrosis markers and was equivalent to protection liver drugs in the normalisation rates of serum transaminases, TBIL, but protection liver drugs significantly increased the improvement rates of hepatic fibrosis markers. Silymarin combined with antiviral drug or antiviral drug and protection liver drugs may have potential therapeutic value. Treatment with silymarin appears to be safe and well tolerated. The data are too limited to exclude a substantial benefit or harm of silymarin and its combination therapy on serum transaminases, and also to support recommending this herbal compound for the treatment of chronic hepatitis B.
Indexed as
Identifiers
What OpenQuestion holds
Registered trials
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 OpenQuestion graph.