Authors: Dockalova Hana, Zeman Ladislav, Horky Pavel
Journal: Animals : an open access journal from MDPI
Summary
# Editorial Summary Milk thistle has long been recommended by equine veterinarians for hepatic and laminitic conditions, yet evidence supporting its efficacy remains limited. Researchers fed milk thistle seed cakes (up to 400 g daily for 56 days) to five working horses undergoing regular combined driving training, with five matched controls receiving equivalent caloric feed, and monitored 25 biochemical blood markers including liver enzymes, lipid profiles, antioxidant status, and stress hormones both at rest and following intense exercise. The supplemented group demonstrated significantly lower aspartate transaminase (AST) and cortisol concentrations, alongside reduced non-esterified fatty acids (NEFA), whilst inorganic phosphate (Pi) increased—findings suggestive of improved hepatic function and reduced metabolic stress. Exercise-induced changes in albumin, lactate, and calcium differed between groups, indicating potential protective effects on energy metabolism and mineral balance during physical exertion. Whilst the small sample size (n=5 per group) limits definitive conclusions, these results suggest milk thistle seed cakes may offer genuine metabolic benefits beyond placebo, particularly for working horses experiencing training stress. Farriers and practitioners should view this as preliminary support for milk thistle supplementation in management protocols, though larger, longer-duration trials are needed before firm recommendations can be made regarding dosing protocols and specific clinical applications such as laminitis prevention.
Read the full abstract on PubMed
Practical Takeaways
- •Milk thistle seed cakes at normal feed doses (up to 400 g/day) may help support liver function and metabolic responses to exercise in horses
- •Changes in NEFA and cortisol suggest milk thistle may influence energy metabolism and stress response during intense training
- •Small sample size (n=5 per group) limits clinical application; results are preliminary and warrant larger-scale investigation before broad recommendations
Key Findings
- •Milk thistle seed cake supplementation (up to 400 g/day for 56 days) produced significant differences in AST, NEFA, cortisol, and phosphate levels in treated horses compared to controls (p < 0.05)
- •Physical exercise induced significant changes in albumin, lactate, cortisol, NEFA, and calcium across both groups
- •Milk thistle seed cake feeding showed potential positive effects on equine liver health markers during heavy exercise conditions