garlic
Cholesteryl ester transfer protein activity and atherogenic parameters in rabbits supplemented with cholesterol and garlic powder.

Kwon MJ, Song YS, Choi MS, Park SJ, Jeong KS, Song YO.

Department of Food Science and Nutrition, Pusan National University, 609-735, Busan, South Korea.

The current study was conducted to examine the effect of garlic supplementation on CETP activity, along with its anti-atherosclerotic effect in cholesterol-fed rabbits. Rabbits were fed a 1% cholesterol diet for 12 weeks, including a 1% garlic powder supplement. The garlic-supplemented group exhibited significantly lower CETP activity than the control group during the experimental period (P < 0.05). Among the atherogenic parameters, the total cholesterol, TG, LDL-C, VLDL-C, and atherogenic index were all significantly lower in the garlic group than in the control group during the experimental period (P < 0.05), whereas the HDL-C concentration was significantly higher in the garlic group than in the control group after 12 weeks (P < 0.05). Atherosclerotic lesion area in the aorta arch was also significantly lower in the garlic group (P < 0.05). In the morphological examination, the garlic-supplemented group exhibited far fewer fat droplet deposits than the control group. Furthermore, the garlic supplement also lowered the aortic and hepatic cholesterol, and triglyceride. Accordingly, the current results suggest that garlic exerts hypocholesterolemic and/or antiatherogenic and that plasma CETP activity might be a risk marker related with atherogenesis. As such, the inhibition of CETP activity may delay the progression of atherosclerosis, thereby supporting the atherogenicity of CETP and the inhibitory activity of garlic supplementation against CETP.

Online source: www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/entrez/query.fcgi?cmd=Retrieve&db=PubMed&list_uids=12706483&dopt=Abstract garlic



garlic
Inhibition of Aspergillus niger and Aspergillus flavus by some herbs and spices.

Yin MC, Cheng WS.

Institute of Nutritional Science, Chungshan Medical and Dental College, Taiwan, Republic of China.

The inhibitory effect of water-soluble extracts of garlic bulbs, green garlic, green onions, hot peppers, ginger, Chinese parsley, and basil on the growth of Aspergillus niger and Aspergillus flavus was examined. Garlic bulbs, green garlic, and green onions showed an inhibitory effect against these two fungi. The influence of heat, acid, and salt upon the inhibitory effect of these three herbs was further studied. Increasing the temperature from 60 to 100 degrees C resulted in a significant (P < 0.05) decrease in the inhibitory effect of garlic bulbs against the fungi tested. Green garlic and green onion lost their antifungal activity against A. niger after being treated at 80 and 60 degrees, respectively. For A. flavus, the inhibitory effect of green garlic declined significantly (P < 0.05) with an increase in temperature. However, the antifungal activity of green onions against A. flavus was heat stable. For both fungi tested in this study, the antifungal activity of these spice plants was not affected by acid treatments at pH values 2, 4, or 6, or salt by treatments at concentrations of 0.1, 0.2, 0.3, and 0.4 M (P > 0.05).

Online source: www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/entrez/query.fcgi?cmd=Retrieve&db=PubMed&list_uids=9708267&dopt=Abstract garlic



garlic
Treatment of hepatopulmonary syndrome with Allium sativum L. (garlic): a pilot trial.

Abrams GA, Fallon MB.

UAB Liver Center-Division of Gastroenterology and Hepatology, The University of Alabama at Birmingham, 35294-0007, USA.

No medical therapy exists for subjects with hepatopulmonary syndrome (HPS). A patient with HPS was reported to have improvement in arterial oxygenation while self-administering garlic. Our goal was to determine whether a standardized garlic powder improves arterial oxygenation and dyspnea in subjects with HPS. A prospective, open label uncontrolled pilot study in 15 subjects with HPS were administered garlic powder capsules daily for a minimum of 6 months. Arterial blood gases were determined every 4-8 weeks, in the same position on room air, and a subjective dyspnea transition index was reported. Six of 15 subjects (40%, confidence interval: 0.15-65) had at least a 10 mmHg increase in the P(O2) or decrease in the alveolar-arterial gradient. The mean pre- and postarterial difference in these patients were: P(O2) (14+/-4 mmHg) and alveolar-arterial gradient (18+/-5 mmHg). All 6 subjects who responded to garlic had less dyspnea on exertion. Garlic improved arterial oxygenation in younger subjects (mean 40 versus 56 years old; p = 0.021) or those with lower macroaggregated albumin shunt fractions (mean 21 versus 44%, p = 0.058). Garlic may improve arterial oxygenation and symptoms in patients with hepatopulmonary syndrome and warrants further investigation.

Online source: www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/entrez/query.fcgi?cmd=Retrieve&db=PubMed&list_uids=9802451&dopt=Abstract garlic



garlic
[The preventing function of garlic on experimental oral precancer and its effect on natural killer cells, T-lymphocytes and interleukin-2]

[Article in Chinese]

Tang Z, Sheng Z, Liu S, Jian X, Sun K, Yan M.

Faculty of Stomatology, Hunan Medical University, Changsha.

In order to study the effect and mechanism of garlic on preventing oral precancer, we divided randomly 32 Wistar rats into two groups. The garlic group was painted with garlic solution on the hard palatal mucosae. The control group was applied with distilled water that is equal in quantity. Then, chemical carinogen 4-nitroquinoline 1-oxide (4NQO) was painted on the same sites for both groups, three times weekly. Eight rats were randomly killed in the 10th, 13th week. The hard palatal mucosae were examined with light microscope. Meanwhile, lymphocytes were isolated from the rat spleens. The activation of natural killer (NK) cells and T-lymphocytes, and level of interleukin-2 were determined by radioimmunoassay. The results revealed that garlic effectively prevented oral precancer induced by 4NQO. This effect may be related to the following factors that garlic can improve the activation of NK cells, the function of T-lymphocytes, and the level of IL-2.

Online source: www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/entrez/query.fcgi?cmd=Retrieve&db=PubMed&list_uids=9868126&dopt=Abstract garlic



garlic
Garlic - A Natural Source of Cancer Preventive Compounds.

Das S.

Department of Cancer Chemoprevention, Chittaranjan National Cancer Institute, Kolkata 700026 India. sukta2002 hotmail.com

Several epidemiological observations and a number of laboratory studies have indicated anticarcinogenic potential of garlic, which has been traditionally used from time immemorial for varied human ailments in different parts of the globe. The anticarcinogenic properties of garlic have been attributed to a wide variety of chemical compounds identified to be present in garlic but most studies have focused on specific thioallyl constituents. Garlic components have been found to block covalent binding of carcinogens to DNA, enhance degradation of carcinogens, have antioxidative and free radical scavenging properties and to regulate cell proliferation, apoptosis and immune responses. In view of the variety of effects produced by garlic and its chemical constituents, renewed interest has been generated in investigating its medicinal properties, particularly with reference to cancer prevention and prophylaxis. There are a number of mechanisms at work which jointly are responsible for eliciting the anticarcinogenic effects noted in laboratory studies in a wide range of experimental systems. This has opened up a new avenue for researchers in the field of cancer chemoprevention and merits further scrutiny to establish the role of garlic in prevention of human cancers.

Online source: www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/entrez/query.fcgi?cmd=Retrieve&db=PubMed&list_uids=12716288&dopt=Abstract garlic