Herb

Silymarin is the name given to a flavonoid-rich extract from the medicinal herb milk thistle used primarily for its wide range of benefits on the liver. Widely researched, silymarin has been shown to have considerable liver protective effects, for instance in test animals it is capable of preventing liver necrosis (death of liver tissue) caused by carbon tetrachloride, and death from consumption of the poisonous death cap mushroom. Silymarin can reduce toxic fatty degeneration in the liver, (for instance as caused by alcoholism), and rapidly improves chronic hepatitis, with reduction of the related digestive problems. Good results have been reported in the treatment of cirrhosis of the liver, with bilirubin levels soon returning to normal. Silymarin stabilizes the membranes of liver cells, preventing the entry of toxic compounds and thus preventing damage to these cells. Other reported benefits include inhibition of iron-induced liver toxicity, and damage to the liver caused by the painkiller paracetamol (acetaminophen).

Availability: widely available in health food shops.

Singlet oxygen

A highly reactive form of oxygen similar to a free radical, and consisting of single atoms instead of molecules. Beta carotene and lycopene are effective scavengers of singlet oxygen.

Slippery elm

Herb

The inner bark of Ulmus fulva, slippery elm is rich in mucilage and tannin. Sold either as lozenges or as a powder to be mixed with liquid, slippery elm is used for its soothing effect on the digestive system. It reduces the irritation which is the cause of many symptoms such as the pain of gastric ulcers and the after-effects of food poisoning.

Availability: from health food shops or through nutritional therapists.

SOD

Stands for superoxide dismutase, an antioxidant enzyme.