Liliaceae

Habitat: Cultivated worldwide.

Collection: The bulb with its numerous cloves should be unearthed when the leaves begin to wither in September. They should be stored in a cool dry place.

Part Used: Bulb.

Constituents:

• Volatile oil, consisting of sulphur-containing compounds, including allicin (=S-allyl-2-propenthiosulphinate), allyl-methyltrisulphide, diallyldisulphide, diallyltrisulphide, diallyltetrasulphide, allylpropyldisulphide, ajoene, 2-vinyl-4H-l, 3 dithiin, and alliin, which breaks down enzymatically to allicin; with citral, geraniol linalool and a- and b-phellandrene
• Miscellaneous; enzymes including allinase, B vitamins, minerals flavonoids.

Indications: Garlic is among the few herbs that have a universal usage and recognition. Its daily usage aids and supports the body in ways that no other herb does. It is one of the most effective anti-microbial plants available, acting on bacteria, viruses and alimentary parasites. The volatile oil is an effective agent and as it is largely excreted via the lungs, it is used in infections of this system such as chronic bronchitis, respiratory catarrh, recurrent colds and influenza. It may be helpful in the treatment of whooping cough and as part of a broader approach to bronchitic asthma. In general it may be used as a preventative for most infectious conditions, digestive as well as respiratory. For the digestive tract it has been found that Garlic will support the development of the natural bacterial flora whilst killing pathogenic organisms. In addition to these amazing properties, Garlic have an international reputation for lowering both blood pressure, blood cholesterol levels and generally improving the health of the cardio-vascular system. A recent study was conducted on two groups, one consisting of 20 healthy volunteers who were fed Garlic for 6 months and the other of 62 patients with coronary heart disease and raised serum cholesterol. Beneficially changes were found in all involved and reached a peak at the end of 8 months. The improvement in cholesterol levels persisted throughout the 2 months of clinical follow-up. The clinicians concluded that the essential oil of Garlic possessed a distinct hypolipidemic, or fat reducing, action in both healthy people and patients with coronary heart disease. Garlic should be thought of as a basic food that will augment the body's health and pretect it in general. It has been used externally for the treatment of ringworm and threadworm.

Preparations & Dosage: A clove should be eaten three times a day. If the smell becomes a problem, use Garlic oil capsules, take three a day as a prophylactic or three times a day when an infection occurs.

adenosine
ajoene 411/
cis-ajoene
trans-ajoene 268
alanine 1, 320-3, 168
allicin 1, 500-27, 800
alliin 5, 000-10, 000
alliinase 411/
allisatin pl
allistatin-i
allistatin-ii
allixin
s-allo-mercapto-cysteine
s-allyl-cysteine
s-allyl-cysteine-suoxide
allyl-disuide
allyl-methyl-disuide
allyl-methyl-trisuide
allyl-propyl-disuide
aluminum
aniline
arachidonic-acid
arginine
ascorbic-acid
aspartic-acid
biotin
boron
5-tyl-cysteine-suoxide
caffeic-acid
calcium
calcium-oxalate
carbohydrates
s-(2-carboxy-propyl)-glutathione
beta-carotene
beta-carotene
beta-carotene
beta-carotene
chlorogenic-acid
choline
chromium
citral
cobalt
copper
p-coumaric-acid
cycloalliin
cystine
desgalactotigonin 400 rt
desoxyribonuclease
diallyl-disuide
diallyl-suide
diallyl-tetrasuide
3, 5-diethyl-1, 2, 4-trithiolane
digalactosyl-diglyceride
1, 2-dimercaptocyclopentane
dimethyl-disuide
dimethyl-difuran
dimethyl-suide
2, 5-dimethyl-tetrahydro
thiophene dimethyl-trisuide
1, 3-dithiane
eicosapentaenoic-acid
essential oil
1, 2-epithiopropane
s-ethyl-cysteine-suoxide
fat
ferulic-acid
fiber
foliacin
fructose
geraniol
germanium
gibberellin-a-3
gibberellin-a-7
gitonin
glucose
glutamic-acid 8, 050-19, 320
gamma-l-glutamyl-s-allyl-cysteine
gamma-l-glutamyl-s-beta-carboxy-beta-methyl-ethyl-cysteinyl-glycine
gamma-l-glutamyl-s-(2-carboxy-1-propyl)-cysteineglycine
gamma-l-glutamyl-s-allyl-mercapto-cysteine
gamma-l-glutamyl-isoleucine
gamma-l-glutamyl-l-leucine
gamma-l-glutamyl-methionine
gamma-l-glutamyl-s-methyl-l-cysteine-suoxide
gamma-l-glutamyl-l-phenylalanine
gamma-l-glutamyl-s-propyl-l-cysteine
gamma-l-glutamyl-l-valine
glutathione
glycerol-suoquinovoside
glycine
guanosine
hexa-1, 5-dienyl-trisuide
1-hexanol
hexokinase
histidine
p-hydroxybenzoic-acid
iodine
iron isotyl-isothiocyanate
isoleucine
kaempferol
leucine
linalool
linolenic-acid
lysine
magnesium
manganese
methionine
methyl-allyl-disuide
methylallyl-suide
methylallyl-trisuide
2-methylbenzaldehyde t
3-methyl-2-cyclopentene-1-thione
s-methyl-cysteine
s-methyl-cysteine-suoxide
24-methylene-cycloartenol
s-methyl-l-cysteine-suoxide
1-methyl-2-(prop-2-enyl)-disuane
1-methyl-1, 2-(prop-2-enyl)-disuane
1-methyl-3-(prop-2-enyl)-trisuane
methyl-propyl-disuide
4-methyl-5-vinylthiazole
monogalactosyl-diglyceride
myrosinase
niacin
nickel
nicotinic-acid
oleanolic-acid
oleic-acid
ornithine
peroxidase
alpha-phellandrene
beta-phellandrene
phenylalanine
phloroglucinol pl
phosphatidyl-choline
phosphatidyl-ethanolamine
phosphatidyl-inositol
phosphatidyl-serine
phosphorus
phytic-acid
potassium
proline
2-propen-1-ol
propene
propenethiol
prop-2-enyl-disuane
1, 2-(prop-2-enyl)-disuane
trans-1-propenyl-methyl-disuide
s-propenyl-cysteine
s-propyl-cysteine-suoxide
trans-s-(propenyl-1-yl)-cysteine-disuide
prostaglandin-a-1
prostaglandin-a-2
prostaglandin-b-1
prostaglandin-b-2
prostaglandin-e-1
prostaglandin-e-2
alpha-prostaglandin-f-1
alpha-prostaglandin-f-2
protein
protodegalactotigonin
protoeruboside-b
pseudoscoridinine-a
pseudoscoridinine-b
quercetin
quercetin-3-o-beta-d-glucoside
raffinose
riboavin
riboavin
riboavin
riboavin
rutin
saponin
sativoside-b-1
sativoside-r-1
sativoside-r-2
scordine
scordinin-a
scorodinin-a-1
scorodinin-a-2
scorodinine-a-3
scorodinin-b
scorodose
selenium
serine
silicon
siic-acid
beta-sitosterol
sodium
sodium
stigmasterol
succinic-acid
sucrose
taurine
thiamacornine
thiamamidine
thiamin
threonine
tin
alpha-tocopherol
beta-tocopherol
2, 3, 4-trithiapentane
tryptophan
tyrosine
tyrosinase
uranium
valine
2-vinyl-4h-1, 3-dithiin
3-vinyl-4h-1, 2-dithiin
vit-u
zinc

Citations from the Medline database for Allium sativum

Aboul-Enein AM: Inhibition of tumor growth with possible immunity by Egyptian garlic extracts.

NAHRUNG 1986; 30(2):161-9

Garlic bulbs (Allium sativum) were extracted with distilled water or ethanol. The extracts were then incubated with Ehrlich ascites carcinoma cells at 37 degrees C for 1 h. These pretreated cells were injected into swiss albino mice which survived over 12 weeks. To the contrary, tumor cells which were pretreated with garlic extracts, produced ascites tumor in all mice that died 2 or 4 weeks after intraperitoneal injection. When mice were treated twice at intervals of 7 days with freshly prepared tumor cells exposed to watery or ethanolic extracts of fresh garlic, they acquired resistance against a challenge with Ehrlich ascites tumor cells. Administration of garlic extracts to mice for at least 2 weeks before tumor transplantation, caused a slight delay of 10-20 days in tumor growth and animal death. Generally, the ethanolic extract of garlic gave more pronounced effect as tumor inhibitor as well as immunityinduction than watery extract. No change in serum electrophoreticpattern was detected in mice, whether the tumor cells injected wereincubated or not with garlic extract. In animals treated withunincubated tumor cells, albumin and globulin percentages as well as albumin: globulin ratios (A/G) were decreased as compared to normalmice. A/G ratio was also decreased in immunized mice, pretreated with garlic extract, due to the increase of gamma globulin and unchanging of albumin.

Adoga GI: Effect of garlic oil extract on glutathione reductase levels in rats fed on high sucrose and alcohol diets: a possible mechanism of the activity of the oil.

BIOSCI REP 1986 Oct; 6(10):909-12

The effect on glutathione reductase activities of feeding garlic oil to white albino rats maintained on high sucrose and alcohol diets was studied. Whereas high sucrose and alcohol diets resulted in significant increases in the activity of glutathione reductase in liver, kidneys and serum, the presence of garlic oil restored the levels to near normal. It is proposed that the mechanism of this action of garlic oil involves the active principle, diallyl disulphide, which interacts in an exchange reaction with enzymes and substrates such as glutathione reductase and glutathione which contain thiol groups.

Adoga GI Osuji J: Effect of garlic oil extract on serum, liver and kidney enzymes of rats fed on high sucrose & alcohol diets.

BIOCHEM INT 1986 Oct; 13(4):615-24

High levels of alkaline phosphatase and alcohol dehydrogenase were observed in the serum, liver and kidneys of rats fed on high sucrose and high alcohol diets over a period of 75 days. Garlic oil extract fed with any of the diets, significantly lowered the high levels of the two enzymes in the serum, liver and kidneys. This effect may be due to reduced biosynthesis of fatty acids as NADPH, required for the process, is utilised for the metabolism of the oil.

Ahn-B-W; Lee-D-H; Yeo-S-G; Kang-J-H; Do-J-R; Kim-Y-H; Park-Y-H