Milk Thistle Extract Powder

Seeds of Silybum marianum are the starting material for this milk thistle extract, taken from the dried fruit of the plant rather than from its leaves or flower heads. Ethanol extraction concentrates the seed fraction, and the extract is dried to a light yellow powder.

This is a 10:1 ratio extract, not a silymarin-defined grade. It is water dispersible and milled to 80 mesh. The silymarin-standardized extract, the plain seed powder and the isolated silybin are separate products with their own specifications and uses.

SKU: BOT-BEX-0015 Category: Botanical Extracts Tags: Bars & Bakery, Ethanol Extracted, Milk Thistle, Plant Extracts, Seed & Grain, Water Dispersible

Silybum marianum Identity & Plant Part

The botanical entity is Silybum marianum (L.) Gaertn., an Asteraceae thistle with white-marbled leaves and purple flower heads. The part used is the seed, botanically a small dry fruit (an achene) with a mottled dark coat. Leaves, stems and flower heads are not part of this milk thistle extract, and the plant is not interchangeable with thistles of the genera Cirsium or Carduus.

Common names include milk thistle, Mary thistle and holy thistle. A bare “thistle seed extract” does not say which plant is meant: blessed thistle, for example, is Cnicus benedictus, a different species and a separate raw material.

The seed coat is where the silymarin complex accumulates, a family of flavonolignans built on taxifolin, with silybin, isosilybin, silychristin and silydianin among its members.

Milk Thistle Extract vs Powder & Grades

Form	What It Is	Choose It When
10:1 Seed Extract	Ethanol-extracted, concentrated and dried milk thistle seed	A seed extract without a marker claim is wanted
Milk Thistle Extract 70–80% Silymarin	Standardized extract with a defined silymarin range	The specification names a silymarin figure
Milk Thistle Seed Powder	Dried, milled seed with no extraction	Whole-seed material with oil and fiber is wanted
Silybin (Silibinin) 98%	Isolated single flavonolignan	A pure single compound is required

The 10:1 figure compares starting seed with finished powder. It is not a silymarin content: two milk thistle extracts can both be 10:1 and still differ widely in flavonolignan level, depending on how much of the seed-coat fraction the solvent reached. Ethanol is the solvent behind this milk thistle extract, which suits a fraction that water barely dissolves.

Pick this extract when the brief is a milk thistle ingredient identified by species, part and extraction route, with no marker on the label. Pick the standardized extract when a silymarin figure has to be declared, the seed powder when the whole seed with its oil and fiber is wanted, and silybin when only that single compound will do.

Milled seed keeps the oil-rich embryo together with the coat and can turn rancid on storage; an extract made from the seed carries less of that oil. That difference is one reason the seed powder and the extract are stored, screened and dosed as separate materials even though they share one botanical entity.

Typical Specifications

Specification Item	Product Information
Latin Name	Silybum marianum
Plant Part	Seed & Grain
Processing	Ethanol Extraction
Common Name	Milk Thistle
Ingredient Type	Ratio Extract
Extract Ratio	10:1
Appearance	Light Yellow powder
Solubility / Dispersibility	Water Dispersible
Quality Parameters
Moisture (LOD)	≤5.0%
Total Ash	≤5.0%
Particle Size	80 mesh
Heavy Metals	Lead ≤2 ppm · Arsenic ≤1 ppm · Cadmium ≤1 ppm · Mercury ≤0.1 ppm
Microbiology	TPC ≤1,000 cfu/g · Yeast & Mold ≤100 cfu/g · E. coli Negative · Salmonella Negative/25 g
Shelf Life	24 months in unopened original packaging, cool and dry storage

Application Areas

Hard-Shell Capsule Fills

Milk thistle extract powder goes into hard-shell capsules once a lot-specific flow check is done, with a glidant added if it bridges in the hopper. Its pale yellow color shows through clear shells, so opaque shells keep fills looking uniform between lots.

Film-Coated Tablets

For milk thistle tablets the film coat has two jobs: it covers the faint bitterness of the seed extract and hides the yellow tint that would otherwise show on the surface. A dry binder holds the compact, and disintegration should be checked after coating.

Citrus-Flavored Drink Sachets

Single-serve sachets carry the extract in a flavored carrier. The mild, slightly bitter and nutty seed taste is easily covered by citrus or herbal flavors, and the pale yellow color stays unobtrusive in white or light-colored bases.

Dry-Mix Bars and Bites

Bars and bites take the extract into the dry mix before syrup is added. Because it is a seed extract and not milled seed, it brings no hull fragments into the matrix, which keeps the bar texture smooth.

Formulation Notes

The milk thistle powder is light yellow with a faint nutty seed aroma and a mildly bitter taste. It disperses in water to a slightly cloudy liquid that does not clear, since the flavonolignan fraction is only sparingly soluble.

Wet the powder with a little water before diluting a drink, so it does not float on the surface. In oil suspensions for softgel fills, add it slowly under high shear so that it wets instead of clumping. In dry blends, screen the extract first and premix it with part of the filler, because pale yellow specks stand out in white bases.

After opening a container, reseal the liner and keep it away from heat and light. The small seed-derived oil fraction that remains in the milk thistle extract can dull the aroma and darken the powder in warm air over time.

Packaging & Commercial Supply

Essencefield supports product evaluation, formulation trials, commercial orders, and ongoing ingredient supply. Packaging, storage, and shipping arrangements are determined by product characteristics, order quantity, stability requirements, and destination-market needs.

Supply Item	General Information
Sample	Available upon request for formulation, testing, and supplier evaluation
Order Quantities	100 g · 1 kg · 5 kg · 25 kg · 100 kg · 500 kg · Bulk
Sample Lead Time	Typically 5–7 days after sample confirmation
Production Lead Time	Typically 15–30 days after order and specification confirmation
Packaging	Suitable protective inner packaging with bags, cartons, drums, or other appropriate outer packaging
Storage	Store in tightly sealed, suitable protective packaging in a cool, dry environment. Protect from moisture, heat, and direct sunlight. Specific storage conditions follow the approved product specification.
Documentation	COA · Product Specification · TDS · SDS · Applicable declarations (as applicable)

Final order quantities, lead times, packaging, documentation, and shipping arrangements are confirmed according to the selected product and commercial requirements.