Spring 2022
GARLIC ( A L L I U M S A T I V U M L. FAM. LILIACEAE) JULIANNA MASSA - PRE-PA STUDENT
HISTORY OF USE
Garlic has a long history of being used for its medicinal properties. It has gone by many names including Russian penicillin, rank rose, and snake grass. It is native to Middle Asia where it was used to treat depression. In Ancient India, it was a remedy used to cure a lack of appetite, general weakness, cough, and skin disease. The Egyptians fed their slaves garlic to provide them with vitamins and stifle their appetite to make them capable of doing more work. Hippocrates lists garlic as a remedy for intestinal parasites. In World War I, it was used as a natural antibiotic in place of penicillin for the Russian Army. In fact, garlic’s antiseptic properties have been used to stop cholera and typhoid fever in the early 1900s in Beirut (Petrovska BB, Cekovska S.).
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AVAILABLE FORMS AND DOSAGES
MECHANISM OF ACTION
Garlic supplements can be taken using fresh, aged, or boiled garlic as well as garlic oil. The best way to take it to retain the allicin is either crushed or sliced raw garlic. Grilling or roasting it will not damage the allicin. The recommended daily dosage range is 600-1,200mg divided into small portions and eaten with meals. The minimum effective dose is one clove (Petrovska BB, Cekovska S.).
Various compounds in garlic such as ajoene and allicin lead to many of its effects. Ajoene produces antithrombotic effects by inhibiting lipoxygenases, increasing fibrinolysis, and decreasing thrombocyte production. Garlic also decreases the concentration of triglycerides, serum lipids, and cholesterol in blood. It also prevents the generation of dangerous free radicals (Petrovska BB, Cekovska S.).
COMMON USES There are different uses for garlic around the world. Some of the most popular include treating stomach aches, the common cold, atherosclerosis, high blood pressure, high cholesterol, dandruff, hair loss, and depression. It has also been used to fight many infectious diseases such as typhoid fever and influenza. It is also said to have antiaging and anti-cancer properties (Petrovska BB, Cekovska S.).
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