A new study has revealed that substances present in the milk thistle plant can effectively help reduce the inflammation of liver caused by chemotherapy. For about 2,000 years now, the herb has been used as a treatment against many ailments, and now it has been found to help take care that patients undergoing chemo do not experience liver damage.

For the sake of research, as many as 50 children suffering from Acute Lymphoblastic Leukemia with liver toxicity related to chemotherapy were enrolled and randomly assigned to either milk thistle or a placebo for 28 days. After analysis of the data collected, the researchers concluded that children who were on milk thistle had shown significant improvements in their liver enzymes, as compared to those on a placebo.

"Scientists have begun to understand more about the workings of milk thistle in the past two decades. It is available in the U. S. as a dietary supplement but most often is used for its effects on the liver. This is the first randomized, controlled clinical study to investigate the feasibility and safety of the herbal plant milk thistle in combination with the administration of chemotherapy in children undergoing treatment for cancer", the researchers noted.

There have been many previous studies which have looked into milk thistle as a treatment for hepatitis and cirrhosis, the researchers have noted. Details of the study have been published in Cancer, the American Cancer Society's journal.