Medicinal Plant and Traditional Medicine Research and Development Centre, National Institute of Health Research and Development, Ministry of Health Republic of Indonesia, Jl. Raya Lawu No 10 Tawangmangu, Karanganyar, Central Java-Indonesia
*Corresponding Author: Harto Widodo, Medicinal Plant and Traditional Medicine Research and Development Centre, National Institute of Health Research and Development, Ministry of Health Republic of Indonesia, Jl. Raya Lawu No 10 Tawangmangu, Karanganyar, Central Java-Indonesia, Email: hart2wido2@gmail.com
Online Published on 30 March, 2022.
A high prevalence of global liver diseases compels the availability of affordable drugs with fewer side effects. Silybum marianum (L.) Gaertn. is being used as a traditional medicine for centuries to treat a range of liver and gallbladder disorders. In tropical regions especially in Indonesia, S. marianum is scarcely cultivated. Therefore, cultivation on a large scale to initiate the independency of providing domestic medicinal raw materials demand is needed. This research was conducted to find out a suitable method in producing silymarin from S. marianum by optimizing cultivation technique by using foliar fertilizer (FF) applied to different planting periods and various spacing protocols.
The experiment of nine treatment packages consisted of a combination plant spacing (S) and foliar fertilizer/FF dosage (D) factors, also applied time of planting (P), were examined to obtain the highest silymarin content. This field study was designed using a randomized complete block design (RCBD).
The results showed that a combination of the plant spacing of 140 x 140 cm, FF of 2 mg per plant and planting period in May, obtained the best results in the silymarin content of 1.52±0.07%. It also gave the highest estimated silymarin production per unit area that was 13.79±1.42 kg.ha−1.
Foliar fertilizer, Plant spacing, Silybum marianum, Silymarin
