garlic
Optimal dose of garlic to inhibit dimethylhydrazine-induced colon cancer.

Cheng JY, Meng CL, Tzeng CC, Lin JC.

Department of Surgery, Tri-Service General Hospital, National Defense Medical Center, Taipei, Taiwan, Republic of China.

This study was designed to investigate the optimal dose of garlic during long-term feeding and its preventive and therapeutic effects on colon cancer in rats induced by 1,2-dimethylhydrazine (DMH). A total of 240 male Sprague-Dawley rats were grouped and fed with either a basal or a garlic diet of different concentration, and some groups were subcutaneously injected with DMH 20 mg/kg once a week for 20 weeks. The incidence of colon tumor was significantly decreased in the groups fed with 2.5%, 5%, and 10% garlic diets (p < 0.001). There was no distinct difference among these concentrations (p > 0.05). Therefore the minimal optimal dose of garlic to inhibit colon cancer was 2.5%. The equivalent dose of this concentration in humans is 4.76 g/m2 body surface/day. In a therapeutic study, the tumor-inducing interval in nude mice subcutaneously injected with colon cancer cells (CC-M2) was prolonged by a 2.5% garlic diet (p < 0.01). Thus smaller tumor volume and longer survival time were found in the garlic group than in the controls (p < 0.01). However, the growth rate of tumors was not markedly inhibited by garlic. All rats finally died within 18 weeks. This study suggested that a 2.5% garlic dose may be used mainly as an inhibitor to prevent colon cancers and improve survival time.

Online source: www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/entrez/query.fcgi?cmd=Retrieve&db=PubMed&list_uids=7676710&dopt=Abstract garlic



garlic
Direct anti-atherosclerosis-related effects of garlic.

Orekhov AN, Tertov VV, Sobenin IA, Pivovarova EM.

Institute of Experimental Cardiology, Russian Academy of Medical Sciences, Moscow.

Direct anti-atherosclerosis-related effects of garlic were studied using cell culture. An aqueous extract from garlic powder (GPE) was added to smooth muscle cells cultured from atherosclerotic plaques of human aorta. During a 24-hour incubation, GPE significantly reduced the level of cholesteryl esters and free cholesterol in these cultured cells and inhibited their proliferative activity. In addition, GPE significantly reduced cholesterol accumulation and inhibited cell proliferation stimulated by blood serum taken from patients with angiographically assessed coronary atherosclerosis, i.e. GPE reduced atherogenic manifestations of patients' serum. Garlic effect on blood atherogenicity of patients with coronary atherosclerosis has also been studied ex vivo. Following a 24-hour incubation with cultured cells, patients' blood serum caused an increase of total cell cholesterol. Blood serum taken 2 hours after an oral administration of 300 mg garlic powder tablet caused substantially less cholesterol accumulation in cultured cells. This suggests that garlic powder manifests direct anti-atherogenic-related action not only in vitro but also in vivo.

Online source: www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/entrez/query.fcgi?cmd=Retrieve&db=PubMed&list_uids=7742001&dopt=Abstract garlic



garlic
Allium vegetable consumption, garlic supplement intake, and female breast carcinoma incidence.

Dorant E, van den Brandt PA, Goldbohm RA.

Department of Epidemiology, University of Limburg, Maastricht, The Netherlands.

The risk of female breast carcinoma in relation to onion and leek consumption and the use of garlic supplements was evaluated in the Netherlands Cohort Study on diet and cancer. Onions, leeks, and garlic contain specific compounds which might act as antimutagens. Animal experiments also suggest a possible role for these compounds in inhibition of mammary carcinogenesis. The Netherlands Cohort Study was started in 1986 among 120,852 Dutch men and women, aged 55-69 years, with collecting information on usual diet and important lifestyle characteristics. After 3.3 years of follow-up, 469 incident female breast carcinoma cases and 1713 female members of a randomly sampled control subcohort were available for analysis. Intake of onions or leeks was not associated with breast carcinoma risk after controlling for dietary and nondietary risk factors: the rate ratios in the highest intake categories were 0.95 (95% confidence interval 0.61-1.47) and 1.08 (95% confidence interval 0.79-1.48), respectively, compared with the lowest intake categories. The tests for trend in the rate ratios were neither significant. Garlic supplement use was also not associated with breast carcinoma incidence (rate ratio = 0.87, 95% confidence interval 0.58-1.31). In conclusion, we found no association between the consumption of onions or leeks, or garlic supplement use, and the incidence of female breast carcinoma.

Online source: www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/entrez/query.fcgi?cmd=Retrieve&db=PubMed&list_uids=7749142&dopt=Abstract garlic



garlic
Antifungal effects of Allium sativum (garlic) extract against the Aspergillus species involved in otomycosis.

Pai ST, Platt MW.

Department of Microbiology, University of New Mexico, School of Medicine, Albuquerque 87131.

Otomycosis due to saprophytic keratolytic fungi represents a small percentage of clinical external otitis. Although there are certain antibacterial and antifungal agents available, they usually are very caustic, potentially ototoxic and cannot be used if the ear drum is perforated. Garlic is utilized as a folk medicine in many countries for its antimicrobial and other beneficial properties. In response to a lack of otic preparations, the authors studied the efficacy of garlic extracts against the fungi belonging to the genus Aspergillus which are the most common cause of this infection. Aqueous garlic extract (AGE) and concentrated garlic oil (CGO) along with various commercial garlic supplements and pharmaceutical prescriptions were used in an in-vitro study. AGE and especially CGO were found to have antifungal activity. These agents showed similar or better inhibitory effects than the pharmaceutical preparations and demonstrated similar minimum inhibitory concentrations.

Online source: www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/entrez/query.fcgi?cmd=Retrieve&db=PubMed&list_uids=7765862&dopt=Abstract garlic



garlic
Antidermatophytic activity of garlic (Allium sativum) in vitro.

Venugopal PV, Venugopal TV.

Institute of Microbiology, Madurai Medical College, India.

BACKGROUND. Interest in herbal medicine is enjoying a renaissance at present. Garlic (Allium sativum) is an intriguing herb with a long history of medicinal use for a variety of diseases including ringworm infections. METHODS. Antidermatophytic activity of the aqueous extract of garlic (A. sativum) was investigated against 88 clinical isolates of dermatophytes by an agar dilution technique. The isolates included Microsporum canis (50), M. audouinii (5), Trichophyton rubrum (6), T. mentagrophytes (5), T. violaceum (12), T. simii (5), T. verrucosum (1), T. erinacei (1), and Epidermophyton floccosum (2). The results were compared with the minimal inhibitory concentrations of ketoconazole. RESULTS. The aqueous extract of garlic, diluted 1:150 and 1:100, had inhibited 50 and 90% of the isolates tested, whereas the respective values for ketoconazole were 1 and 2.5 micrograms/mL. CONCLUSIONS. Garlic (A. sativum) could be used as an effective antidermatophytic agent. Further purification and extraction of the active principle of garlic would give a true antidermatophytic activity comparable to standard antifungal drugs.

Online source: www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/entrez/query.fcgi?cmd=Retrieve&db=PubMed&list_uids=7790146&dopt=Abstract garlic