Silybum marianum 'Prometheus' variety is a highly effective medicinal plant, rich in a flavolignan complex including silybin, silydianin, and silychristin. These compounds possess powerful antioxidant properties: they accelerate the restoration of liver cell membranes, bind free radicals, and protect the body from toxic substances. Flavolignans also promote glutathione synthesis, enhancing liver detoxification and supporting its health.
The plant's physical characteristics include a height of up to 200 cm, dark green elliptical leaves about 80 cm long, and purple flowers. The seeds have a brown hue with stripes; the mass of a thousand seeds is approximately 25–30 g, and the flavolignan content is about 3%. The plant is characterized by rapid maturity: flowering begins in mid-July, lasts 7 days, and the growing season is about 88 days. Seed yield reaches 10.2 centners/hectare.
'Prometheus' is widely used in the pharmaceutical industry for producing phytopreparations and medicinal products. Thanks to its rich spectrum of biologically active substances (alkaloids, saponins, fatty acids, proteins, vitamins, and trace elements), the plant is used both as a medicinal raw material and in the food industry. The variety is distinguished by high biological plasticity and can be grown in all regions with a frost-free period of more than 150 days, making it convenient for a wide range of agricultural practices.
