An assessment of Silybum marianum (L.) Gaertn. fruit's accordance with European Pharmacopoeia

Silybum marianum (L.) Gaertn. is a plant species known for its use in traditional and modern medicine, particularly against liver diseases, and is notable for containing pharmacologically important compounds. The silimarin complex found in the fruit of this plant has a wide range of applications in pharmaceutical products due to its antioxidant and hepatoprotective effects. The European Pharmacopoeia provides detailed standards for the quality control, purity level, amount of active substance, and safe use of herbal drugs. In this context, evaluating the compliance of Silybum marianum fruit with the European Pharmacopoeia criteria is important both for determining the pharmaceutical validity of the plant and for formulating products in accordance with legal standards. In this study, morphological examination, microscopic analysis, total ash content determination, and loss-on-drying analysis were performed on 10 samples (S. marianum) obtained from herbalists in Iraq. The macroscopic and microscopic characteristics of the samples obtained from herbalists were found not to be consistent with the criteria defined in the European Pharmacopoeia. In the loss-in-drying analysis, the values found in all samples (except sample 1) were within the pharmacopoeia limits. In the total ash content determination, the values were within acceptable limits in all samples. According to the total ash content analysis results, only Samples 1–4 were found to be compliant with the pharmacopoeia. This thesis study concludes that not all S. marianum samples available on the market may be suitable for health purposes and may not produce the desired effects when used as an herbal drug.