Allium sativa

Anticancer, cardioprotective, antidiabetic, anti-Alzheimer’s disease, anti-obesity, immunomodulator, antimicrobial

Garlic, which is the bulb of a plant native to the Himalayas and Siberia, is among the world’s most important spices – both from a culinary and a medical perspective. Used across the globe as a pungent food flavoring, in many societies garlic is employed as an important medicinal spice with an array of traditional uses. These include its use as an antiseptic, anti-asthmatic, antirheumatic and as a treatment for coughs and colds. Over the centuries, it has also been employed against specific disease scourges, notably leprosy, plague and smallpox.
Garlic is one of the most thoroughly studied of all the spices, and its age-old medicinal reputation has been shown to be well deserved. It is an invaluable source of numerous important phytochemicals and contains over 25 valuable antioxidants. It is also an effective therapeutic and preventive agent against several acute conditions as well as a range of our most serious chronic diseases.

Important Phytochemicals

Antioxidants: Allicin, alliin, allyl-mercaptan, apigenin, caffeic acid, chlorogenic acid, coumaric acid, diallyl-pentasulfide, diallyl-trisulfide, ferulic acid, glutathione, hydroxy benzoic acid, kaempferol, lignin, myricetin, oleanolic acid, phytic acid, quercetin, rutin, s-allyl-l-cysteine, s-allyl-cysteine-sulfoxide, salicylic acid, sinapic acid, taurine, vanillic acid

Others: Ajoene, arginine, cycloalliin, diallyl disulfide, diallyl sulphide, tryptophan

Medicinal Properties

Cancer
The regular consumption of garlic has a protective effect against a number of different malignancies, including cancers of the colon, breast, bladder, liver, prostate, lung, and leukemia. It also inhibits Helicobacter pylori infection of the stomach, preventing ulceration caused by this bacteria and thereby reducing the risk of stomach cancer.
Garlic’s anti-tumorigenic properties are, in part, due to its protective effect against some harmful ingested toxins. It is primarily the allyl sulphides and other compounds found in garlic plants that protect us against a whole range of carcinogenic substances.

Cardiovascular Disease and Blood Lipids
Garlic has long been used as an alternative treatment for the conditions underlying cardiovascular disease, and numerous studies have shown that this remarkable spice reduces all the major risk factors for the disease. Garlic works through the following mechanisms:

    Lowers blood lipids: Garlic reduces both cholesterol and triglyceride levels thereby reducing the risk of atherosclerosis.
    Reverses atherosclerosis: Garlic has a direct effect on atherosclerosis by inhibiting and even reversing the deposition of cholesterol in the arterial endothelial layer.
    Reduction of platelet stickiness: By preventing the excessive aggregation of platelets, garlic can reduce the risk of both heart attacks and thrombotic strokes. This property has been attributed principally to the phytochemical, ajoene.
    Lowers blood pressure: Garlic stimulates the synthesis of nitric oxide which is an important chemical involved in the vascular dilatation mechanism. By increasing the levels of nitric oxide in the blood, garlic increases vasodilatation and thereby lowers blood pressure. Interestingly, reduced nitric oxide levels are also associated with erectile dysfunction, and drugs such as Viagra work by increasing nitric oxide levels. Thus garlic’s reputation in folk lore as an aphrodisiac may be justified after all.

Diabetes
Garlic has blood glucose-lowering properties and also has the ability to reduce the raised blood lipid levels that are commonly found in diabetic patients.

Alzheimer’s Disease
 Promising laboratory studies show that garlic can reduce amyloid deposition in the brain by up to 30 percent, suggesting that, along with turmeric, it is an important spice to use in the prevention, and possibly the treatment of this Alzheimer's Disease.

Obesity
Garlic has several properties which make it an important substance in the management of obesity and is a valuable component of any weight loss strategy.

Immunomodulation
Many of garlic’s preventive and therapeutic effects are, directly or indirectly, attributable to its immunomodulatory properties.

 Antimicrobial Effects
Garlic is one of the most potent antimicrobial spices. It is capable of killing a wide range of bacteria, fungi and viruses, and studies are presently being undertaken to investigate its effectiveness against some of our more dangerous viral diseases. These include hepatitis, HIV, and the opportunistic bacterial and fungal infections commonly seen in AIDS patients.