Sam E would be a good addition. Billy and Tink are both going on it this weekend (because both of their blood work came back high liver values in different respects).
When talking about HERBS (including barks and 'plant' matter) "dose" becomes a tricky word -- simply because bottom line these things are plants and quality, bulk, etc. all come into play. It can depend on how well the capsule is packed, how finely the herb is ground, and MOSTLY how good the quality is of the herb.
Think, in real life, How many tomatoes would you use in your tomato sauce? Well ... that depends! It depends on how big the tomatoes are, what variety they are, and how much juice to flesh there is in that variety. It also depends on how good the quality is of them.
When you get into herbs SOME places will just grind up whatever gets harvested -- including weeds, and other parts of the plant that may get IN the herb.
This is why I'm always saying "GET the BEST quality you can".
Sam E is good stuff -- it's more a supplement but it really DOES help the liver. But it's not a "protectant" (which is mostly what milk thistle is).
And "dose" again reflects what you're trying to achieve -- they also use milk thistle to protect the kidneys in the case of that spider bite as I was telling you on the phone the other night and then they literally give it intravenously.
Milk thistle decocted in alcohol (like the Herb Pharm is) is a whole different type of "dose" than milk thistle powder.
You often see now on herb labels the word "standardized" -- to a degree that's simply been brought on by politically correct attempts to prevent the quality from taking a huge down-turn by the above-mentioned companies who process the weeds and 'junk' as well as the herb. So "standardized" often simply means "averaged".
That works against you in the case of the very well grown, higher quality herbs -- because they're really *better* than "standardized". The herb may be a better quality which often simply means "safer" because it has less risk of contaminants or inferior plant matter.
But just remember, "dose" is tricky, particularly with herbs because the dose depends on what you are trying to achieve with it. What they publish as a "dose" may be to get a particular effect, rather than another one. And it's also going to depend on quality -- because with a lesser quality there may be things IN the milk thistle powder that ought not be there (like pesticides and waste). So a higher dose of something good quality is going to be safer than a lesser quality. It may also be more effective at the same dose than the lesser quality.
We Americans tend to LOVE our numbers. We want measurements, we want "exact", we want studies and numbers -- and sometimes that flies in the face of what may work or be recommended in THIS instance. Again that's one of the big reasons to find a holistic vet you trust and run that by them.
This is where you call Dr. Butler and see if you're uncomfortable about something. This is where you find the good vet.
The other caution, since this is a public forum, I'm going to make is I always BEWARE of websites quoting doses or touting the benefits of this or that **IF THEY SELL ANYTHING**. Most of the reputable websites I know of that are stores absolutely refuse to quote a "dose" -- referring you instead to a good practitioner, simply because mis-information is SOOOO often out there. I would be extremely nervous about using a dose obtained from an online source like that.
I generally won't buy from any website (nor do I generally like using their information) if they are saying how awesome this or that product is and gee, we just happen to have it on sale today! It can be salesmanship -- particularly if they tend to encourage the merits of this over that. It's all a judgment call to be honest, -- just be very careful.
Find a holistic vet you like and trust -- and run the information by them. Ask THEM where to find good information (most of them are full of suggestions).