Garlic, with its unmistakable, heavy-hitting flavor, is renowned as a cooking ingredient – as well as infamous for its pungent odor on the breath. People have also long treated garlic as medicine. Despite markets laden with garlic supplements, the exact effects of this powerful plant on health are still unclear. Some evidence, however, points to antibiotic and possible immune-boosting characteristics.
The Plant
Garlic (Allium sativum) belongs to the allium family, one of great culinary and cultural importance that also includes onions, shallots and leeks. Above ground, this perennial sends up green stalks of tight-wrapped leaves that droop at the crown. Most important from the human perspective are the stocky, subterranean bulbs, which consist of numerous cloves. While long ubiquitous in gardens around the world, garlic is originally native to the steppes and mountains of Central Asia – explaining its fine performance in similarly cold, semi-arid environments.
Medicinal History
The healthful effects of garlic consumption have been touted for over 5,000 years. In “Garlic and Other Alliums: The Lore and the Science,” published in 2010, Eric Block summarizes some of the more archaic uses. Ancient Egyptians used garlic as medicine: Block notes a reference written around 1550 BC, the “Codex Ebers,” which included no fewer than 22 remedies including the plant. The Ancient Greeks also utilized this and other alliums. Pliny the Elder’s “The Natural History” discusses dozens of therapeutic properties of garlic, including its defense against venomous bites. More recently, French gravediggers in the early 1700s added smashed garlic to wine, according to the University of Maryland Medical Center, in an attempt to protect themselves against the rampant black plague. Doctors used garlic to treat gangrene in World War I and World War II.
Chemical Attributes
Investigations of garlic’s potential immune-boosting, disease-fighting qualities center on some of its constituent chemical compounds, most notably the sulfur-based aliin. Aliin converts to a form called allicin when garlic is crushed; allicin is often mentioned as an antibiotic agent. Fermenting bulbs into aged garlic reduces allicin to a variety of other sulfur compounds such as S-allyl cysteine, also focuses of medicinal study. Garlic and alliums in general are also rich in the element selenium, closely related to sulfur and critical to proper immune function.
Possible Immune Effects
Modern scientists and medical professionals continue to research the potential effects of garlic on the human immune system and any number of specific conditions. A 2001 study, published by Peter Josling in “Advances in Therapy,” compared the effects on the common cold of a garlic supplement, Allimax, which contains allicin, and a placebo. Study participants in the supplement group, Josling reported, were less likely to develop cold symptoms and quicker to recover from them. A literature review by Donald L. Lamm, et al., published in a 2001 issue of the “Journal of Nutrition,” concluded that garlic may bolster immune function in patients with certain cancers, while also highlighting the need for further study.
References
- "Garlic and Other Alliums: The Lore and the Science"; Eric Block; 2010
- The University of Maryland Medical Center: Garlic
- "Advances in Therapy"; Preventing the Common Cold with a Garlic Supplement; Peter Josling; July/August 2001
- "Journal of Nutrition"; Enhanced Immunocompetence by Garlic; Donald L. Lamm, et al,; 2001
