2/5/2016

ChemicalConstituentsofGarlic

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GARLIC
byTammyD.Motteshard
[TableofContents][History][Location][ChemicalConstituents][MedicinalQualities][ContraIndications]
[KnownHerbalFormulas][Dosages&Applications][PersonalExperiences]

THEBENEFITSOFTHEUSEOFGARLIC
INHERBALPREPARATIONS

CHEMICALCONSTITUENTSOFGARLIC
Garliccontains0.10.36%ofavolatileoilthesevolatilecompoundsaregenerally
consideredtoberesponsibleformostofthepharmacologicalpropertiesofgarlic.Garlic
containsatleast33sulfurcompoundslikealiin,allicin,ajoene,allylpropl,diallyl,trisulfide,
sallylcysteine,vinyldithiines,Sallylmercaptocystein,andothers.Besidessulfure
compoundsgarliccontains17aminoacidsandtheirglycosides,arginineandothers.
Mineralssuchasseleniumandenzymeslikeallinase,peroxidases,myrosinase,andothers.
GarliccontainsahigherconcentrationofsulfurcompoundsthananyotherAlliumspecies.
Thesulfurcompoundsareresponsiblebothforgarlicspungentodorandmanyofits
medicinaleffects.Theodorisformedbytheactionoftheenzymeallinaseonthesulfur
compoundalliin.Thisenzymeisinactivatedbyheat,whichaccountsforthefactthat
cookedgarlicproducesneitherasstronganodorasrawgarlicnornearlyaspowerful
physiologicaleffects.
Howeveroneofthemostbiologicallyactivecompounds,allicin(diallylthiousulfinateor
diallyldisulfide)doesnotexistingarlicuntilitiscrushedorcutinjurytothegarlicbulb
activatestheenzymeallinase,whichmetabolizesalliintoallicin.Inadditionallicinis
furthermetabolizedtovinyldithiines.Thisbreakdownoccurswithinhoursatroom
temperatureandwithinminutesduringcooking.Allilcin,whichwasfirstchemically
isolatedinthe1940s,hasantimicorobialeffectsagainstmanyviruses,bacteria,fungiand
parasites.
Likeallicin,ajoene,isanotherchemicalconstituentthoughttobemostimportanttohealth.
Ajoeneisagarlicderivedcompoundproducedmostefficientlyfrompureallicinandhas
theadvantageofagreaterchemicalstabilitythanallicin.Severalclinicaltrialsandinvitro
studiesofajoenehavedemonstrateditsbestknownantithrombosis,antimicrobialand
cholesterolloweringactivities.Recently,topicapplicationofajoenehasproduced
significantclinicalresponseinpatientswithskinbasalcellcarcinoma.Ajoenewasshown
toinhibitproliferationandinduceapoptosisofseveralhumanleukaemiaCD34negative
cellsincludingHL60,U937,HELandOCIM1.
Besidesitsantithrombosis,antimicrobialandcholesterolloweringactivities,ajoenesand
dithiinsareamongthemostactivecompoundsformedfromfreshgarlic.Ajoeneshavebeen
shownto:possessantithrombotic(anticlotting)activityinhumanplateletsuspensions
possessantitumoractivitydisplaysignificantantifungalactivity,inhibitingthegrowthof
Aspergillusniger,Candidaalbicans,ParacoccidioidesBrasiliensis,andFusariumspecies
inactivatehumangastriclipase,asulfhydrylenzymeinvolvedinthedigestionand
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ChemicalConstituentsofGarlic

adsorptionofdietaryfatsfunctionasantioxidantsbyinhibitingtheinteractionsof
leukocyteswhichmediatereleaseofsuperoxideanion.
GeorgeBarany,chemistattheUniversityofMinnesota,reportsthatajoeneisaspotentas
aspirininpreventingstickyredbloodplateletsfromclumpingtogether.Relatedfactors
lengthenclottingtime,whileothersactuallydissolveclots.Allthreeeffectscanimpacton
heartattackandstrokeprevention.
BesidesGeorgeBarany,NationalCancerInstitutenutritionistElaineLanzastates"Thereis
stillabiginterestintheareaoffatandfiber,butrightnow,thereismoreemphasisonthe
ideaoftracecompounds,nonnutrientsinvegetablesandfruitsthatworkagainsttumor
formation.""Garlictopsthelistasasourceofthesetraceelementsormicronutrients."
Thetwomajorcompoundsinagedgarlic,SallylcysteineandSallylmercaptoLcysteine,
hadthehighestradicalscavengingactivity.Inaddition,someorganosulfurcompounds
derivedfromgarlic,includingSallylcysteine,havebeenfoundtoretardthegrowthof
chemicallyinducedandtransplantabletumors.
AsIhavesaidgarlichasawiderangeofpowerfulphysiologicaleffects.IbelievethatDr.
HerbertPierson,atoxicologistwho(untilrecently)headedtheNationalCancerInstitute's
"designerfoods"program:saiditbest"Garlicisaveritablepharmacopoeia.That'swhy
garlichasbeenfoundineverymedicalbookofeverycultureever.Forthousandsofyears,
garlichasbeenusedforthetreatmentandpreventionofdisease.Sotherehastobe
somethingthere.""Ahugedatabaseexistsdocumentinghealthbenefitsrangingfrom
cardiovasculareffectstocancerinhibition,fromtheslowingdownofagingtothe
detoxificationofheavymetalsandotherpoisonouschemicalsubstances."

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