Verified
“30:1 extract standardized to 80% silymarin”
The label discloses a 30:1 concentrated seed extract standardized to 80% silymarin, computing to 120 mg silymarin per 150 mg capsule.
Reviewed
Verified by SAC team
+20
XP on completion
Best Vegan Staple
Jarrow Formulas
Jarrow Formulas Milk Thistle 150 mg, 30:1 Standardized to 80% Silymarin, 200 Veggie Capsules Review
6.9/10SAC Product Score™
A dependable, allergen-friendly vegan staple that's genuinely cheap per capsule — but the label math matters. Jarrow's 30:1 concentrated extract is standardized to 80% silymarin and comes 200 caps to a bottle for around $19, the lowest price-per-cap in the set. The catch: at 120 mg silymarin per capsule, the 'one a day' habit lands well under the doses used in studies.
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Read the complete Milk Thistle (Silymarin) guide →How we built the SAC Product Score™ — 6.9/10
Form & Bioavailability30%6.5/10
A 30:1 concentrated seed extract standardized to 80% silymarin — a legitimate, concentrated plain extract, but still non-phytosome, so the usual low oral bioavailability applies.
Silymarin/Silybin Dose vs Clinical Range25%6/10
Only 120 mg silymarin per capsule — the lowest per-cap dose in the set. Matching a trial-level ~420 mg/day takes 3–4 capsules, so the single-cap habit under-doses. This is the main drag on its score.
Third-Party Testing & Quality Assurance20%6.5/10
Brand GMP manufacturing and a free-of-major-allergens formulation, but no independent NSF or USP seal — comparable to the other value plain extracts.
Value per Effective Serving15%8.3/10
200 caps for ~$19 is the lowest price-per-capsule here (~$0.10). The catch is that low per-cap dose: on a per-milligram-of-silymarin basis the value edge narrows once you count the 3–4 caps needed.
Formulation Suitability & Tolerability10%9/10
Vegan, non-GMO, gluten-free and free of major allergens — one of the cleanest suitability profiles in the set and its strongest axis.
The product at a glance
- Form
- Milk thistle seed 30:1 extract, 80% silymarin (veggie cap)
- Silymarin load
- 120 mg silymarin per capsule
- Supply
- 200 veggie capsules (label: 1 cap 1–3× daily)
- Testing
- Brand GMP; free of major allergens
- Suitability
- Vegan, non-GMO, gluten-free
- Price
- ~$19
- Cost per serving
- ~$0.10/cap
Marketing claims vs. reality
Verified
“Vegan, non-GMO and allergen-free”
The formulation uses veggie capsules and is labeled non-GMO, gluten-free and free of major allergens.
Partial
“Supports glutathione and liver function”
Silymarin is associated with antioxidant/glutathione support mechanistically, but clinical outcome evidence is mixed (Rambaldi 2007), so the functional claim is only partially supported.
Not verified
“One capsule daily is an effective dose”
At 120 mg silymarin per capsule, a single daily capsule is well below the ~420 mg used in several trials; an effective dose requires 3–4 capsules.
What our test actually found
01Do the label math
At 120 mg silymarin per cap, 'one a day' delivers far less than the ~420 mg used in liver studies. To reach that you need 3–4 capsules — which is the single most important thing to understand before buying it as a one-a-day.
02Cheapest per cap, not per dose
~$0.10 a capsule is the lowest sticker in the set, but once you account for the 3–4 caps needed for a full dose, the per-milligram value narrows toward the mid-pack rather than leading it.
03Best-in-class suitability
Vegan, non-GMO, gluten-free and free of major allergens — on the 10%-weighted suitability axis it's among the cleanest here, which is why it earns the vegan-staple badge despite the low dose.
04A maintenance product, not a treatment dose
It works as a low-dose everyday staple. Just don't mistake the single-cap habit for a clinical dose — and remember even a full silymarin dose has mixed trial support.
Pros & cons, no sugar-coating
Pros
- 30:1 concentrated extract standardized to 80% silymarin
- Lowest price-per-capsule in the set — 200 caps for ~$19
- Vegan, non-GMO, allergen-free formulation
- Marketed around glutathione support for liver function
Cons
- Only 120 mg silymarin/cap — the lowest per-capsule dose here
- Reaching a trial-level ~420 mg/day means 3–4 capsules, not one
- Plain extract with the usual low oral bioavailability; no NSF/USP seal
A clean vegan staple — read the dose math
A dependable, allergen-friendly vegan staple that's genuinely cheap per capsule — but read the label math. At 120 mg silymarin per cap, the 'one a day' habit lands well under the doses used in studies; you'll want three or four caps to get there, which erodes the price edge. Fine as a low-dose maintenance option, underpowered as a single-cap solution.
Check Jarrow Formulas on AmazonIf this doesn’t fit — try these
Nutricost Milk Thistle 300 mg
7.5/10Double the silymarin per cap at a similar price — fewer capsules for the same dose.
See it on the list →Pure Encapsulations Silymarin
7.8/10A cleaner, higher-dose vegan option if you'll pay for the testing reputation.
See it on the list →Solaray Milk Thistle Seed Extract 350 mg
7.2/10A vegan one-a-day that actually delivers a high single-cap dose.
See it on the list →Sources & further reading
- Rambaldi A, Jacobs BP, Gluud C. Milk thistle for alcoholic and/or hepatitis B or C virus liver diseases. Cochrane Database Syst Rev. 2007;(4):CD003620.Rambaldi A, Jacobs BP, Gluud C · 2007 · Cochrane Database of Systematic Reviews · PMID 17943794
Milk thistle for alcoholic and/or hepatitis B or C virus liver diseases
No significant mortality benefit was demonstrated for milk thistle versus placebo in liver disease.
- Gillessen A, Schmidt HH. Silymarin as Supportive Treatment in Liver Diseases: A Narrative Review. Adv Ther. 2020;37(4):1279-1301.Gillessen A, Schmidt HH · 2020 · Advances in Therapy · PMID 32065376
Silymarin as Supportive Treatment in Liver Diseases: A Narrative Review
Notes dose and bioavailability as key determinants of any supportive effect.