garlic
Inhibition of tumor growth with possible immunity by Egyptian garlic extracts.

Aboul-Enein AM.

Garlic bulbs (Allium sativum) were extracted with distilled water or ethanol. The extracts were then incubated with Ehrlich ascites carcinoma cells at 37 degrees C for 1 h. These pretreated cells were injected into swiss albino mice which survived over 12 weeks. To the contrary, tumor cells which were pretreated with garlic extracts, produced ascites tumor in all mice that died 2 or 4 weeks after intraperitoneal injection. When mice were treated twice at intervals of 7 days with freshly prepared tumor cells exposed to watery or ethanolic extracts of fresh garlic, they acquired resistance against a challenge with Ehrlich ascites tumor cells. Administration of garlic extracts to mice for at least 2 weeks before tumor transplantation, caused a slight delay of 10-20 days in tumor growth and animal death. Generally, the ethanolic extract of garlic gave more pronounced effect as tumor inhibitor as well as immunity induction than watery extract. No change in serum electrophoretic pattern was detected in mice, whether the tumor cells injected were incubated or not with garlic extract. In animals treated with unincubated tumor cells, albumin and globulin percentages as well as albumin: globulin ratios (A/G) were decreased as compared to normal mice. A/G ratio was also decreased in immunized mice, pretreated with garlic extract, due to the increase of gamma globulin and unchanging of albumin.

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garlic
The C-S lyases of higher plants: preparation and properties of homogeneous alliin lyase from garlic (Allium sativum).

Nock LP, Mazelis M.

Alliin lyase from garlic (Allium sativum) has been purified to homogeneity. The purification procedure involves the use of affinity chromatography on concanavalin A-Sepharose 4B. Addition of polyvinylpolypyrrolidone to the homogenizing medium greatly improves the specific activity of the extract. The enzyme is a glycoprotein as seen by its ability to bind to concanavalin A-Sepharose 4B and by its positive periodic acid-Schiff base stain. It has a carbohydrate content of 5.5%. Km values for this enzyme were estimated to be 5.7 mM for S-ethyl-L-cysteine sulfoxide and 3.3 mM for S-allyl-L-cysteine sulfoxide. The molecular weight of this garlic enzyme, as determined by gel filtration, was found to be 85,000; the molecule consists of two equal subunits of Mr 42,000. The amino acid content was found to be similar to that reported previously for onion alliin lyase, although there is twice as much tryptophan in the garlic alliin lyase as in the onion enzyme. By both chemical and spectral methods the enzyme was found to have two molecules of pyridoxal 5-phosphate per enzyme molecule, suggesting one per subunit. There are significant differences in the nature of these findings from those previously reported from this laboratory for the onion enzyme. Studies are in progress to compare further the alliin lyases from garlic and onion.

Online source: www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/entrez/query.fcgi?cmd=Retrieve&db=PubMed&list_uids=3740854&dopt=Abstract garlic



garlic
Garlic extract inhibits the enhanced peroxidation and production of lipids in carbon tetrachloride-induced liver injury.

Kagawa K, Matsutaka H, Yamaguchi Y, Fukuhama C.

Carbon tetrachloride (CCl4) enhances lipid peroxidation, resulting in triglyceride accumulation in the liver. In this report, we studied the therapeutic, but not the preventive, effect of garlic extract on CCl4-intoxicated liver, in comparison to the effect of vitamin E. Garlic extract was given orally to mice in the dose of 10, 100 or 500 mg/kg at 6 hr after CCl4 administration. The increased conjugated-diene level was diminished significantly to 82% by the 100 mg/kg extract, and also thiobarbituric acid-reactivity was inhibited by all the doses of the extract. In addition to the above mentioned effects, the high doses of garlic extract lowered hepatic triglyceride and lipid contents. Highly significant and positive correlation was observed between hepatic triglyceride content and conjugated-diene level in the lipid fraction of the liver. Besides, vitamin E at the dose of 25 mg/kg inhibited only lipid peroxidation. We, therefore, conclude that not only is garlic extract effective on diminution of lipid peroxide and on alteration of peroxidative status to more reductive condition like the effect of vitamin E, but it also inhibits hepatic triglyceride accumulation in injured liver.

Online source: www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/entrez/query.fcgi?cmd=Retrieve&db=PubMed&list_uids=3795617&dopt=Abstract garlic



garlic
Characterization of a potent inhibitor of platelet aggregation and release reaction isolated from allium sativum (garlic).

Mohammad SF, Woodward SC.

When added to platelet-rich plasma, aqueous extracts of garlic inhibited platelet aggregation and the release reaction. Subsequent experiments designed to characterize the inhibitory component revealed that the inhibitory activity was i) associated with small molecular-weight components, ii) the inhibitory component possessed the typical garlic odor and contained an abundance of sulfur, iii) the inhibitory activity could be extracted with organic solvents, and iv) temperatures above 56 degrees C and alkaline pH above 8.5 quickly destroyed the inhibitory activity. The Rf value of the major inhibitory component after thin-layer chromatographic separation was similar to that of allicin, an unique thiosulfinate in garlic previously shown to possess strong antibiotic and antifungal properties. Allicin was synthesized. On thin-layer chromatographic plates, allicin co-migrated with the inhibitory component in garlic. At 10 microM concentration, allicin inhibited completely platelet aggregation and the release reaction. Comparative studies suggest that the major platelet aggregation and release inhibitor in garlic may be allicin.

Online source: www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/entrez/query.fcgi?cmd=Retrieve&db=PubMed&list_uids=3798421&dopt=Abstract garlic



garlic
Effects of garlic and onion oils on glutathione peroxidase activity, the ratio of reduced/oxidized glutathione and ornithine decarboxylase induction in isolated mouse epidermal cells treated with tumor promoters.

Perchellet JP, Perchellet EM, Abney NL, Zirnstein JA, Belman S.

Garlic oil, onion oil and one of its constituents, dipropenyl sulfide, all increase, to diverse degrees, glutathione (GSH) peroxidase (GSH:H2O2 oxidoreductase, EC 1.11.1.9) activity in isolated epidermal cells incubated in the presence or absence of the potent tumor promoter 12-0-tetradecanoylphorbol-13-acetate (TPA). The stimulatory effects of these oils on epidermal GSH peroxidase activity are concentration-dependent and long-lasting, and thus, abolish totally the prolonged inhibitory effect of TPA on this enzyme. Moreover, garlic oil (5 micrograms/ml) inhibits by about 50% TPA-induced ornithine decarboxylase (ODC, L-ornithine carboxy-lyase, EC 4.1.1.17) activity in the same epidermal cell system. This concentration of garlic oil also increases remarkably GSH peroxidase activity and inhibits ODC induction in the presence of various nonphorbol ester tumor promoters. Since the same oil treatments inhibit dramatically the sharp decline in the intracellular ratio of reduced (GSH)/oxidized (GSSG) glutathione caused by TPA, it is suggested that some of the inhibitory effects of garlic and onion oils on skin tumor promotion may result from their enhancement of the natural GSH-dependent antioxidant protective system of the epidermal cells.

Online source: www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/entrez/query.fcgi?cmd=Retrieve&db=PubMed&list_uids=3802049&dopt=Abstract garlic