Milk Thistle Amulet

Silybum marianum variety "Amulet" – a high-yield and undemanding plant suitable for both pharmaceutical production and feed industry. Plant height ranges from 60 to 125 cm; leaves are medium-sized and green, flowers are purple. The fruit is a dark brown achene with characteristic stripes; 1000 seeds mass is average.

The variety is characterized by high yield: depending on growing conditions, it reaches up to 1.2 t/ha when using direct combine harvesting. The vegetative period is approximately 102 days, while the flowering period lasts about two weeks. Seeds contain 25.5% fatty oils and 3.1% sum of flavolignans (calculated as silibinin), making them valuable for producing antihepatotoxic drugs and for extracting silymarin oil by pressing and extraction.

"Amulet" is resistant to powdery mildew, bacterial infection, as well as pests – the cinnabar moth and shield bug. Seeds are easily cleaned mechanically, facilitating further processing. Moreover, the plant biomass can be used as silage for livestock, providing an additional feed mass source.