Professional Documents
Culture Documents
A Review of Traditional and Prospective Medicinal Applications of Garlic
A Review of Traditional and Prospective Medicinal Applications of Garlic
A Review of Traditional and Prospective Medicinal Applications of Garlic
BPS4123
1. Introduction
The integration of the use of plants in human culture has been a common theme that
dates back to the beginning of civilization. Some of the most involved uses of plants in human
life however is rooted in their medicinal properties. The medicinal properties of plants come
from the various chemical compounds found in them each of which has its own function that
serves a role in maintenances of the organism’s well-being (Sofowora et al., 1993). The usage of
plants for this purpose always has been and currently remains a source of primary health care
in most rural, cultural areas. However, the extent of a plant’s medicinal abilities is not limited to
these groups as they are currently used in the developed world today as sources of raw
material for usage in manufacture of modern medicine as well as a source of alternative health
care in themselves. Much of these modern medicines today that incorporate medicinal plants
came about through traditional knowledge. By pairing this traditional knowledge with scientific
research, new areas of use can be appointed to these traditional medicines where their usage
had not seen before.
Allium sativum, otherwise known as garlic, is a bulbous plant that belongs to the same
genus as other plants such as leeks and onions. Garlic is a widely cultivated plant that is used in
many cultures all over the world. The use of garlic for its therapeutic properties has been a
common theme throughout history first dating back to Ancient Egypt almost 5000 years ago.
Traditionally, garlic has been seen as an antimicrobial agent through treatment of various
diseases throughout history such as cholera, influenza, typhus and various infections. However,
applications of garlic for this purpose have recently been overshadowed by the creation of
antibiotics and vaccines. Nonetheless, recent discoveries regarding the potential applications of
garlic for other diseases is being explored and indications of a promising role in the treatment
of these areas are present. By using scientific investigation rather than simply traditional
medical knowledge, we can validate the historical uses of garlic’s as a medicine as well as
appoint new therapeutic applications to this otherwise ancient remedy. First, we must
understand what active ingredients are present in garlic as well as the potential role they serve
in the body.
2. Phytochemistry
The various bioactive chemicals that can be found in plants are the root of any potential
therapeutic properties it may possess. Allium sativum, otherwise known as garlic, is a bulbous
plant with long stalks rooting up to 30 cm from the ground. However, all of the plants active
materials can be found in the garlic bulb. It has been determined that the key active ingredient
in garlic is allicin (Tattleman, E., 2005). Allicin is an organic sulfate compound which is a
member of the thiosulfinate family that is present in garlic. Allicin is formed when the
compound alliin is subjected to the enzyme allinase. These compounds only interact when
garlic is either chopped or crushed. The conversion of alliin to allicin creates the signature smell
garlic is known for. The creation of allicin can then direct the rise of other sulfur compounds
such as allyl sufides and ajoene (Bayan et al., 2014). However, other compounds are also
present in garlic which can also lend to its therapeutic effects. In order to assay what other
potential active ingredients are present in the bulbs, an extract can be prepared from fresh
garlic and a qualitative assay on the extract can be completed. Extraction methods done as per
Huzaifa et al. (2014) resulted in positive hits for tannins, saponins and cardiac glycosides in
relatively larger amounts and alkaloids and flavonoids in trace amounts with quantitative
results as seen in Table 1. Each of these established active compounds will possess a different
role in the human body.
Usage of garlic for medicinal purposes can be traced back thousands of years
throughout various cultures and is among the earliest of documented plants used as a medicine
for maintenance of health. The first documented usage of garlic as a medicine was seen in
ancient Egypt almost 5000 years ago (Petrovska et al., 2009). Garlic was part of regular diet for
both the wealthy and poor. However, garlic was prescribed as a medical treatment for malaise
as well as insect and parasite infestations as per the “Codex Ebers”, the official medical text of
the era. Likewise, an Indian medical text established in 300 AD called the “Charaka-Samhita”,
states that garlic is recommended for the treatments of infections as well as parasites and
worms. However, traditional Indian medicine does not limit garlic’s uses to anti-microbial
function as it is also recommended for digestion issues as well as weakness and fatigue (Rivlin
et al., 2001). In traditional Chinese medicine, garlic is seen as warm in nature and a strong
stimulant (Petrovska et al., 2009) This understanding of garlic’s nature was then applied to
several different conditions. Consumption of garlic would result in an increase in body
temperature, making the conditions inside the body undesired for any foreign organisms.
Additionally, the increased temperature would aid in digestion of foods and fluids in the
stomach removing blockages and remedying indigestion to settle stomachs. In traditional
Chinese medicine, the lungs were seen as the key component of the immune system and that
sickness was something that could be inhaled. When garlic was consumed, the pungent
smelling oils would vaporize and be absorbed into our lungs. This absorption would mediate the
garlic’s natural warmth to quicken and strengthen our lungs and allow us to fight off and exhale
harmful pathogens more efficiently.
Similar uses of garlic in the Greek and Roman empires led to the transferal of this
ancient knowledge into early middle ages culture through to the end of the Renaissance.
Following the fall of these powers, the sole source of medical knowledge in the beginning of
this era were from Greek and Roman texts. Like the “Codex Ebers” of Egypt and “Charaka-
Samhita” of India, one of the major medical texts of the middle ages was the Hortulus text
established around 800 AD. This text illustrated plants that were thought to have medicinal
properties and of these, garlic’s medicinal uses were a common incidence. Many of these uses
paralleled the ones seen in other previous ancient texts including use to ward off infections and
parasites as well as the same correlation of garlic as a “warm” food as seen in traditional
Chinese medicine. The anti-microbial function of garlic played a massive role in treating
infections during the various plagues that occurred in western Europe (Vanjkevic et al., 2002).
The similarities in medicinal uses of garlic can be seen throughout these various cultures
yet all doing so without ever coming into contact with each other. The uniform conclusions that
these cultures were able to independently establish indicates the effectiveness of garlic as a
legitimate resource of remediation of human sickness, especially its antimicrobial activity.
Today, ailments that have the largest effect on human health are more related to issues
that arise with age rather that infections and disease as seen through past history. Many of the
treatments developed from modern science to combat these new ailments require invasive,
unfamiliar practices using man made compounds that many may find unappealing. However,
new scientific methods paired with traditional herbal medicinal knowledge may lead to new
applications of ancient remedies which will be seen as a more natural option when compared
to previous practices. Today in modern medicine, we see this potential application of garlic as a
medicinal plant in other fields of study through promising clinical trials. Clinical trials are one of
the best indicators of efficacy and safety of a product that has potential to be a promising
candidate in combating certain ailments. Various clinical trials have been completed using garlic
as an agent for cardiovascular health including hypotensive action and serum lipid lowering
action as well as usage for anticancer activity.
4.1 Cardiovascular
One of the first uses of garlic as a hypotensive agent was in 1941 when a study done
involving 26 patients with hypertension were subject to garlic supplementation. After
treatment, 85% of patients observed a lower blood pressure with average drop of 12.3 mmHg
and 6.5 mmHg in systolic and diastolic blood pressure respectively. (Damru et al., 1941) A more
recent meta-analysis of the hypotensive effect involving 7 separate trails using the same
preparation method along with placebo, 3 of the 7 experienced a drop in systolic blood
pressure where 4 of the 7 showed a drop in diastolic blood pressure. (Silagy et al., 1994). It was
noted that these clinical trials all lacked consistency when it came to how the trials were ran
including un-uniform sources of garlic as well as duration and stringency of the trials. Along
with hypotensive properties, it has been established that garlic is also a good source of
cholesterol lowering agents. A study involving 3 groups of people each subject to vegetarian
diets with varying amounts of garlic showed that the group whose diet contained the highest
amount of garlic consumption resulted in the lowest presence of serum lipids in the blood.
(Sainani et al., 1979). Furthermore, a meta-analysis completed in 1994 incorporating 16
separate trails found an average 12% reduction in total cholesterol when comparing diets rich
in garlic to that of placebo or diets excluding it. (Silagy et al., 1994)
5. Mechanisms
The current evidence presented supports garlic’s traditional and newer applications for
various ailments. However, the mechanism to which they operate must be better understood in
order to legitimize their past usage as well as to help advance their usage in these new areas of
interest. Some theories of the mechanism are presented below.
Figure 1. Mass spectrometry of enzyme BCP after incubation with various garlic extracts.
6. Conclusion
The role garlic has had in serving the medical needs of humans has been a common theme
throughout history. The plethora of active compounds that garlic possesses makes for a plant
that has incredibly large potential to treat several various diseases. Regardless of the fact that
garlic’s antimicrobial usage is not a new concept, evidence supports that its effectiveness is
adequate and can be seen as a more natural alternative choice to the current man-made
options. Additionally, it has been observed that through clinical trials, garlic has proven itself as
a very promising candidate as a combatant against other diseases such as cardiovascular and
cancer. However, in order to progress from a candidate to a treatment, more attention must be
given to garlic with additional completion of clinical trials regarding its use as a combatant for
these diseases. Furthermore, a better understand of how garlic combats these and the
mechanisms to which they work will lead to larger and more effective applications to garlic’s
therapeutic potential.
References
Banerjee, Sanjay K, and Subir K Maulik. “Effect of Garlic on Cardiovascular Disorders: A Review.”
Nutrition Journal 1 (November 19, 2002): 4. doi:10.1186/1475-2891-1-4.
Bayan, Leyla, Peir Hossain Koulivand, and Ali Gorji. “Garlic: A Review of Potential Therapeutic
Effects.” Avicenna Journal of Phytomedicine 4, no. 1 (2014): 1–14.
Cañizares, Pablo, Ignacio Gracia, Luis A. Gómez, Antonio García, Carlos Martín De Argila, Daniel
Boixeda, and Luis de Rafael. “Thermal Degradation of Allicin in Garlic Extracts and Its
Implication on the Inhibition of the in-Vitro Growth of Helicobacter Pylori.”
Biotechnology Progress 20, no. 1 (February 2004): 32–37. doi:10.1021/bp034135v.
Damru F: The use of garlic concentrate in vascular hypertension. Med Rec. 1941, 153: 249-251
Ensminger, AH .1994. Foods & nutrition encyclopedia, Volume 1. CRC Press, 1994. p. 750.
Hall, Andrea, P. Andrew Karplus, and Leslie B. Poole. “Typical 2-Cys Peroxiredoxins: Structures,
Mechanisms and Functions.” The FEBS Journal 276, no. 9 (May 2009): 2469–77.
doi:10.1111/j.1742-4658.2009.06985.x.
Huzaifa, U., Labaran, I., Bello, A.B. and Olatunde A. “Phytochemical Screening of Aqueous
. Extract of Garlic(Alliumsativum) bulbs.” Rep Opinion 2014;6(8):1-4]. (ISSN: 1553-9873)
Langer, Glenn A. “Mechanism of Action of the Cardiac Glycosides on the Heart.” Biochemical
Pharmacology 30, no. 24 (December 15, 1981): 3261–64. doi:10.1016/0006-
2952(81)90597-9.
Li, Hao, Hui-qing Li, Yun Wang, Hai-xiu Xu, Wan-teng Fan, Mei-ling Wang, Pei-Hong Sun, and
Xiao-yan Xie. “An Intervention Study to Prevent Gastric Cancer by Micro-Selenium and
Large Dose of Allitridum.” Chinese Medical Journal 117, no. 8 (August 2004): 1155–60.
Mehrbod, P., E. Amini, and KHEYRI M. TAVASOTI. "Antiviral activity of Garlic Extract on influenza
. virus." (2009): 19-23.
Mirelman, D., D. Monheit, and S. Varon. “Inhibition of Growth of Entamoeba Histolytica by
Allicin, the Active Principle of Garlic Extract (Allium Sativum).” The Journal of Infectious
Diseases 156, no. 1 (July 1987): 243–44.
Mozaffari Nejad, Amir Sasan, Shahrokh Shabani, Mansour Bayat, and Seyed Ebrahim Hosseini.
“Antibacterial Effect of Garlic Aqueous Extract on Staphylococcus Aureus in
Hamburger.” Jundishapur Journal of Microbiology 7, no. 11 (November 2014).
doi:10.5812/jjm.13134.
Nicastro, Holly L., Sharon A. Ross, and John A. Milner. “Garlic and Onions: Their Cancer
Prevention Properties.” Cancer Prevention Research (Philadelphia, Pa.) 8, no. 3 (March
2015): 181–89. doi:10.1158/1940-6207.CAPR-14-0172.
Omar, Syed Haris, Ahmed Hasan, Nashat Hunjul, Javed Ali, and M. Aqil. “Historical, Chemical
and Cardiovascular Perspectives on Garlic: A Review.” Pharmacognosy Reviews 1, no. 1
(January 1, 2007): 80.
Petrovska, Biljana Bauer, and Svetlana Cekovska. “Extracts from the History and Medical
Properties of Garlic.” Pharmacognosy Reviews 4, no. 7 (2010): 106–10.
doi:10.4103/0973-7847.65321.
Rahman, Khalid, and Gordon M. Lowe. “Garlic and Cardiovascular Disease: A Critical Review.”
The Journal of Nutrition 136, no. 3 (March 1, 2006): 736S–740S.
Rivlin, Richard S. “Historical Perspective on the Use of Garlic.” The Journal of Nutrition 131, no.
3 (March 1, 2001): 951S–954S.
Sainani, G. S., D. B. Desai, N. H. Gorhe, S. M. Natu, D. V. Pise, and P. G. Sainani. “Effect of Dietary
Garlic and Onion on Serum Lipid Profile in Jain Community.” The Indian Journal of
Medical Research 69 (May 1979): 776–80.
Shi, John, Konesh Arunasalam, David Yeung, Yukio Kakuda, Gauri Mittal, and Yueming Jiang.
“Saponins from Edible Legumes: Chemistry, Processing, and Health Benefits.” Journal of
Medicinal Food 7, no. 1 (2004): 67–78. doi:10.1089/109662004322984734.
Silagy, C. A., and H. A. Neil. “A Meta-Analysis of the Effect of Garlic on Blood Pressure.” Journal
of Hypertension 12, no. 4 (April 1994): 463–68.
Sivam, G. P. “Protection against Helicobacter Pylori and Other Bacterial Infections by Garlic.”
The Journal of Nutrition 131, no. 3s (March 2001): 1106S–8S.
Tattelman, Ellen. “Health Effects of Garlic.” American Family Physician 72, no. 1 (July 1, 2005):
103–6.
Tilli, C. M. L. J., A. J. W. Stavast-Kooy, J. D. D. Vuerstaek, M. R. T. M. Thissen, G. a. M. Krekels, F.
C. S. Ramaekers, and H. a. M. Neumann. “The Garlic-Derived Organosulfur Component
Ajoene Decreases Basal Cell Carcinoma Tumor Size by Inducing Apoptosis.” Archives of
Dermatological Research 295, no. 3 (July 2003): 117–23. doi:10.1007/s00403-003-0404-
9.
Uemura, N., S. Okamoto, S. Yamamoto, N. Matsumura, S. Yamaguchi, M. Yamakido, K.
Taniyama, N. Sasaki, and R. J. Schlemper. “Helicobacter Pylori Infection and the
Development of Gastric Cancer.” The New England Journal of Medicine 345, no. 11
(September 13, 2001): 784–89. doi:10.1056/NEJMoa001999.
Valente, Carlo, Guillaume Aboua, and Stefan S. Du Plessis. “Garlic and Its Effects on Health with
Special Reference to the Reproductive System,” 2014. doi:10.5772/57191.
Vanjkevic SK. Beograd: S.K.Vanjkevic; 2002. Lecenje belim lukom; pp. 10–7
Wallock-Richards, Daynea, Catherine J. Doherty, Lynsey Doherty, David J. Clarke, Marc Place,
John R. W. Govan, and Dominic J. Campopiano. “Garlic Revisited: Antimicrobial Activity
of Allicin-Containing Garlic Extracts against Burkholderia Cepacia Complex.” PLoS ONE 9,
no. 12 (December 1, 2014). doi:10.1371/journal.pone.0112726.
Wu, Chih-Chung, Lee-Yan Sheen, Haw-Wen Chen, Wei-Wen Kuo, Shun-Jen Tsai, and Chong-Kuei
Lii. “Differential Effects of Garlic Oil and Its Three Major Organosulfur Components on
the Hepatic Detoxification System in Rats.” Journal of Agricultural and Food Chemistry
50, no. 2 (January 16, 2002): 378–83.
Yeh, Yu-Yan, and Lijuan Liu. “Cholesterol-Lowering Effect of Garlic Extracts and Organosulfur
Compounds: Human and Animal Studies.” The Journal of Nutrition 131, no. 3 (March 1,
2001): 989S–993S.