Silymarin (Silybum Marianum)
Silymarin (Silybum Marianum)
Purity Levels
Silymarin By HPLC 90% to 95%
Mechotech designs and manufactures turnkey herbal extraction plants for Silymarin (Silybum marianum), standardised to Silymarin By HPLC 90% to 95%. Milk thistle seed — the commercial source of silymarin — carries a naturally high fixed-oil content alongside its flavonolignan complex (silybin, silydianin, silychristin), so the process is built around a dedicated defatting stage ahead of extraction to protect downstream recovery and simplify purification. We supply the complete machinery — seed cleaning, defatting, hydro-alcoholic extraction, resin-based purification, closed-loop solvent recovery and drying — to convert Milk Thistle seed into a consistent, HPLC-standardised extract for the hepatoprotective nutraceutical and pharmaceutical industries.
Mechotech's Silymarin plant is engineered around the specific processing demands of Silybum marianum seed: a defatting step removes the seed's naturally high oil content before hydro-alcoholic extraction, and filtered miscella is passed through a resin-adsorption purification stage to concentrate the flavonolignan complex ahead of vacuum drying. Built in SS 316L with electropolished product-contact surfaces, PLC-SCADA automation and full batch documentation, each plant is delivered as a commissioned turnkey system configured to meet the Silymarin By HPLC 90% specification.
Technical Specifications
| Product | Silymarin Extraction Plant |
|---|---|
| Botanical Name | Silybum marianum |
| Raw Material | Dried Milk Thistle seeds |
| Plant Part | Seed |
| Extract Type | Standardised dry extract (powder) |
| Standardisation | Silymarin By HPLC 90% to 95% (lower grades and high-purity Silybin fractions also achievable) |
| Extraction Method | Seed defatting followed by hydro-alcoholic solvent extraction (closed, jacketed SS 316L extractors) |
| Product-contact Material | SS 316L, electropolished, CIP-cleanable |
| Filtration System | Plate-and-frame filter press with cartridge polish filtration and resin-purification column |
| Concentration System | Falling-film / vacuum evaporator with closed-loop solvent recovery |
| Drying System | Vacuum tray dryer or spray dryer |
| Automation | PLC-SCADA with recipe management, batch traceability and production reporting |
| Plant Capacity | Configured to requirement; reference project processes 10 MT/day of milk thistle seeds (see the Milk Thistle (Silymarin) Extraction Plant case study) |
| Utility Requirements | Steam, chilled/cooling water, compressed air, soft water, nitrogen, power (project-specific) |
| Compliance | GMP hygienic design; full documentation for qualification |
| Final Product Form | Free-flowing standardised extract powder |
Plant Capacities
| Plant Scale | Seed Throughput | Typical Use |
|---|---|---|
| Pilot | Configured to your feedstock and trial plan | Product development, parameter validation |
| Semi-Commercial | Configured between pilot and commercial scale | Contract manufacturing, scale-up trials |
| Commercial | Configured to raw-material supply and confirmed buyer volume | Export-grade continuous production |
Capacity is configured to raw-material supply and confirmed buyer volume; we recommend a pilot plant to validate parameters before scaling.
Manufacturing Process
Seed Cleaning & Size Reduction
Dried Milk Thistle seeds are cleaned of foreign matter and husk, then milled to a uniform particle size to expose the flavonolignan-bearing seed coat and kernel to solvent.
Defatting
Milled seed is defatted to remove its naturally high fixed-oil content ahead of the main extraction, preventing oil carry-over that would otherwise complicate downstream filtration and resin purification.
Hydro-Alcoholic Extraction
Defatted seed meal is charged into closed, jacketed SS 316L extractors and extracted with a controlled hydro-alcoholic solvent system under regulated temperature and multiple cycles to maximise recovery of silymarin flavonolignans.
Solid-Liquid Separation & Filtration
The extract slurry is clarified through a plate-and-frame filter press followed by cartridge polish filters, removing spent marc and fines ahead of concentration.
Vacuum Concentration & Solvent Recovery
The filtered miscella is concentrated in a falling-film / vacuum evaporator under reduced pressure to protect heat-sensitive flavonolignans, with a closed-loop system recovering and recycling the solvent.
Resin Purification & Standardisation
The concentrate is passed through a resin-adsorption purification stage to concentrate the silymarin complex, then assayed by HPLC and adjusted to the declared specification (Silymarin By HPLC 90%).
Drying & Quality Control
The standardised extract is vacuum-tray or spray dried to a free-flowing, low-moisture powder, then released after HPLC assay, residual-solvent, heavy-metal, microbial, and moisture testing with full certificate-of-analysis documentation.
Major Plant Equipment
- Raw material cleaning system
- Hammer mill (size reduction)
- Seed defatting unit
- Stainless-steel hydro-alcoholic extraction vessels (jacketed, SS 316L)
- Solvent storage tanks
- Solvent transfer pumps
- Plate heat exchangers
- Plate-and-frame filter press / pressure leaf filter
- Cartridge polish filters
- Resin-adsorption purification column
- Falling-film / vacuum evaporator
- Closed-loop solvent recovery system
- Condensers & vacuum pumps
- HPLC quality-control laboratory setup
- Vacuum tray dryer / spray dryer
- CIP (clean-in-place) system
- PLC-SCADA control panel, electrical MCC & instrumentation
Plant Output
Case Study
Milk Thistle (Silymarin) Extraction Plant — Turnkey Silymarin & Silybin Project
See how this plant was engineered and delivered for a real project.
Applications
- Hepatoprotective / liver-health nutraceutical formulations
- Pharmaceutical standardised ingredient supply
- Nutraceutical capsule, tablet, and softgel manufacturing
- Dietary supplement blends for detox and liver-support categories
- Functional food and beverage ingredient applications
- Cosmetic and personal-care antioxidant actives
- Export to regulated-market ingredient buyers
- Veterinary hepatoprotective formulations
Key Features
GMP Hygienic SS 316L Construction
Electropolished SS 316L product-contact surfaces use GMP hygienic design, with CIP operation between batches.
Integrated Seed Defatting
A dedicated defatting stage removes Milk Thistle seed's naturally high oil content before extraction, protecting silymarin recovery and simplifying downstream purification.
Resin-Based Purification
An in-line resin-adsorption purification column concentrates the flavonolignan complex, supporting high-grade silymarin standardisation on the same plant.
Closed-Loop Solvent Recovery
Integrated recovery returns the extraction solvent for reuse.
HPLC-Standardised to Specification
In-process and batch-release HPLC assay are used to check the finished extract against its declared specification (Silymarin By HPLC 90%).
Scalable Batch Capacity
Plants are configured to requirement from pilot scale upward, with modular expansion.
Frequently Asked Questions
Mechotech has several Milk Thistle / Silymarin product pages — how do they differ?
Does Mechotech supply the complete machinery for Silymarin extraction?
What specification can the Silymarin plant achieve?
Why does the process include a seed defatting step?
What extraction method is used, and how is silymarin purified?
What production capacities are available for the Silymarin plant?
What is the typical cost and delivery timeline for a Silymarin extraction plant?
Which industries use Silymarin extract, and does the plant support GMP qualification?
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