GarlicBy Jodell Dragon and Han

Nguyen

Introduction/Description

Garlic is a vegetable that belongs to the Allium Class.

The word garlic originated from the Anglo-Saxon word 'gar-leac', meaning spear leek.

“Allium Sativum” is the Latin name.

Sulfur-containing compounds contribute to garlic's strong flavor and smell.

Background/History Garlic is the oldest cultivated plant and

is also the most widely researched. Garlic has been used for food and

medicine for thousands of years. Traced back to early civilizations;

Ancient India, Egypt, Rome, and Japan. 18th Century France during the plague outbreak. World War I and II Olympic games India

Common Forms Raw Supplemental forms:

Garlic Essential Oils Gathered when steam passes through garlic.

Garlic Oil Macerate Whole garlic cloves grind into vegetable oil and

encapsulated. Garlic Powder

Slicing/crushing garlic cloves, then dried and grind into a powder form.

Garlic Extract Whole/sliced garlic cloves soaked in an alcohol

solution for a certain amount of time.

Dosages

The World Health Organization (WHO) guidelines for general health promotion for adults:

Recommended daily doses: 2-5 grams of fresh garlic (approx. 1 clove) 0.4-1.2 grams of dried garlic powder 2-5 milligrams of garlic oil 300-1,000 milligrams of garlic extract

Follow dosage instructions on label Personal tolerance

Side Effects

Strong breath and body odor Allergies Heartburn, vomiting, and

diarrhea Dermatitis and bronchial asthma HIV drug interference Acts as a natural blood thinner

Alternative Therapy/Usage

Garlic is widely promoted as having medicinal properties with prevention and treatment of certain diseases.

These include: Anticancer properties Antimicrobial properties Cholesterol lowering agent

Decrease LDL cholesterol Decrease coronary artery calcification Decrease the risk of cardiovascular

diseases.

Garlic Powder Tablets and the Primary Prevention of

CHD• Moscow Municipal Cardiology Health Center

• 51 patients: men and women ages 40-65 years, serum cholesterol >200 mg/dl, lipid lowering drugs, not in a high arterial pressure range

• Double blinded• Randomized and

placebo controlled

• Two groups: one taking Allicor (tablet with 150mg of garlic powder), and the other taking a placebo

• After a 12-month period, serum cholesterol, and triglyceride levels were recorded

• Results: Men had a major decrease in LDL levels, women did too but not significant enough to be conclusive

Ajoene and Metabolic Syndrome Patients

• Pilot study: to evaluate the effects of ajoene mainly on abdominal circumference and Blood Pressure

• 17 Japanese males avg. age of 47 years, 17 Japanese females avg. age of 49 years

• 4 groups: hyperlipidemic, hyperglycemic, hypertensive, and visceral adiposity

• 3 periods of 4 weeks

• 1st period was placebo capsule (MCT)

• 2nd period .78 mg of ajoene (normal dose)

• 3rd period 2.34 mg of ajoene (3x normal dose)

• Results: Both ajoene doses showed reduction in waist circumference and blood pressure, an increase in HDL levels, and no changes for the hyperglycemic group

Garlic Extract and Cytotoxicity

• Islamic Azad University, Iran

• Assess cytotoxicity of garlic extract on the Sk-mel3 cell line (malignant melanoma)

• Malignant melanoma cultured on plates and treated with 6 different diluted garlic extract aqueous solutions

• Incubation periods consisted of 5, 24, 48, and 72 hours

• Results: Overall each incubation period showed a decrease in cancer cell viability, with the 72-hour period being the strongest with a 92% cytotoxic level

*Could garlic extract be used as an anticancer treatment?

Aqueous Garlic Extract and Salmonella Isolates

• College of Applied Medical Sciences at Al-Jouf University, Saudi Arabia

• Measure the growth inhibition of different Salmonella strains

• Used strains from Tunisian foods and wastewater

• Incubated in different concentrations of aqueous garlic extract

• Minimal inhibitory concentration and minimum bactericidal concentrations observed

• Results: most of the salmonella strains when incubated in the aqueous garlic extract solution containing 324μg/ml of allicin were either killed or stopped growing, MIC and MBC concentrations both ranged from 10-15 mg/ml of garlic

Raw Garlic vs. Commercial Garlic Supplements

• Stanford Prevention Research Center and Department of Medicine at Stanford University

• Test effects of raw garlic, garlic powder, aged garlic extract potency on LDL concentration in the blood

• 169 people aged 30-65 years with moderately high cholesterol levels

• Divided into four groups based upon specific garlic consumption

For 6 days a week for 6 months

• Group 1: sandwich with garlic and placebo pills

• Group 2: sandwich with no garlic and garlic powder pills

• Group 3: sandwich with no garlic and AGE pills

• Group 4: sandwich with no garlic and placebo pills

• Results: Tested LDL levels after each month, and levels did not lower with either raw or supplemented garlic

*only allicin observed

Discussion of Results

After reviewing several recent studies:• Garlic may really offer anticancer and

antimicrobial properties• There is strong evidence garlic may be

able to prevent or alleviate cardiovascular disease and risks

• Garlic and cancer research needs to be tested in vivo

• Further research needed on other compounds of garlic, not just allicin (not very stable)

Conclusion

• Supplementation is not necessary, but with the presence of no major side effects, it wouldn’t hurt if chosen to take them

• Don’t let a little bad breath and body odor get in the way of your relationship with garlic, it is an overall very healthy ingredient to cook with

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and-cancer-prevention  Hakimzadeh, H., Ghazanfari, T., Rahmati, B., Naderimanesh, H., (2009). Cytotoxic effect of garlic extract and its fractions on Sk-mel3 melanoma cell line. Immunopharmacology and Immunotoxicology, 32(3), 371-375.

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Upper Saddle River, New Jersey, Columbus, Ohio: Pearson Prentice Hall.