Message Number: SG687 | New FHL Archives Search
From: "Michael Janke"
Date: 2002-08-08 17:15:58 UTC
Subject: Milk Thistle dosage
To: <ferrethealth@smartgroups.com>
Message-ID: <LPBBJCPOGBGKFCPLDLBNMEPBDFAA.mjanke@miamiferret.org>

> One of my ferrets has lymphoma in his liver. He is on Pred and
> vitamin C. I have "liver health" tablets which contain silymarin (the
> active ingredient in Milk Thistle) and I'm wondering if anyone has a
> specific dose (mgs/kg) they can recomend? I read the archives and
> couldn't find any actual dosage info....

You might want to go to http://www.pettribune.com and do a search for Milk
Thistle. Dr. Swift, a local holistic vet, wrote an article a few years back
in this local newsletter on this herb for treatment of liver problems.
Below is an extract from that article that contains his dosage
recommendations. If you want to read the entire article, do the search I
mentioned. It'll be the first article in the list of articles that come up
on the results page.

The Milk Thistle I have here says it's 80%, 160 mg per tablet and to take
one to three tablets a day (for a human). So it looks like there's a pretty
wide margin as far as dosage goes.

mike

Here's the article extract I mentioned...

"When shopping for milk thistle, I prefer a standardized (70 or 80% silybin)
product. A typical adult human dose is 100 - 150 mg. of silybin, which is
approximately 200 mg. dry herb three times daily, or the equivalent in a
liquid. For pets, simply use their body weight as a percentage of the human
dose. For example, a 30-pound dog would get 30% of a human dose and a
10-pound cat would get 10%. Most products purchased at health food stores
have the recommended human dose on the label. Give it for 2-3 months.
Medicinal herbs should not be used continuously for extended periods. I
suggest 5 days on then 2 days off for 6 weeks. Skip 1 week and begin again.
It could be used one week each month as a little extra protection in
otherwise healthy pets. "