Garlic has a long history of use as a preventive and therapeutic medicinal herb in many cultures. Throughout history, garlic has played an essential nutritional and therapeutic function. The Avesta, a compilation of Zoroastrian sacred literature that was presumably composed during the sixth century BC, has some of the oldest references to this therapeutic herb. Garlic was also used as a medication by the Sumerians and ancient Egyptians. There is evidence that participants were given garlic to increase stamina at the first Olympics in Greece.
Garlic is a bulbous plant that may reach a height of 1.2 meters. Garlic is a simple plant to grow and may thrive in a variety of conditions (Figure). Garlic comes in a variety of varieties or subspecies, the most notable of which are hardneck and softneck garlic.
Role of garlic on cardiovascular diseases
Garlic and its preparations are widely known as medications for cardiovascular disease prevention and therapy. Garlic intake appears to have considerable impacts on decreasing blood pressure, preventing atherosclerosis, lowering serum cholesterol and triglycerides, inhibiting platelet aggregation, and enhancing biological activity, according to a large body of scientific evidence. These beneficial cardiovascular benefits have been demonstrated in both experimental and clinical trials on various garlic formulations.
Intravenous injection of garlic extracts resulted in small decreases in both systolic and diastolic pressures in in-vivo animal tests, while oral intake of garlic extract in hypertensive animals reduced blood pressure down to normal levels. Garlic was found to lower blood pressure in more than 80% of individuals with high blood pressure in many clinical investigations. In one study, garlic substantially reduced mean systolic blood pressure by 12 mmHg and mean supine diastolic blood pressure by 9 mmHg when compared to placebo in 47 hypertensive individuals. Garlic had no negative effects, according to the authors, and no significant complications were recorded.
Role of garlic on Anti-tumor effects
Many in vitro and in vivo investigations have shown that garlic preparations and its compounds may have cancer-preventive properties. Garlic has a high variety of bioactive chemicals with anticancer effects, the majority of which are allyl sulfide derivatives. Different garlic derivatives have been shown to affect a growing number of molecular pathways involved in carcinogeneics, including DNA adduct generation, mutagenesis, free radical scavenging, cell proliferation and differentiation, and angiogenesis. Garlic slows the development of cancer cells by blocking cell cycle progression in the G2/M phase. The Designer Food Program was established by the US National Cancer Institute in 1990 to investigate which foods had a significant influence in cancer prevention.
They came to the conclusion that garlic is the most powerful food with cancer-preventive characteristics. Garlic contains antitumor properties that include tumor cell growth suppression and chemo prevention. Garlic and its ingredients have been shown in both rat and human trials to suppress the growth of chemically induced cancers in the liver, colon, prostate, bladder, mammary gland, esophagus, lung, skin, and stomach.
Role of garlic on diabetes mellitus
Although laboratory investigations have shown that garlic has a distinct hypoglycemic impact, the effect of garlic on human blood glucose levels is still debatable. Garlic has been shown in several trials to lower blood glucose levels in diabetic mice. Garlic reduced blood glucose levels in rats and mice with diabetes mellitus caused by streptozotocin and alloxan. Garlic has been demonstrated to provide short-term advantages in diabetic individuals with dyslipidemia. In diabetic people, garlic considerably lowered blood total cholesterol and LDL cholesterol while marginally raising HDL cholesterol when compared to placebo. Metformin plus garlic therapy lowered fasting blood glucose (FBG) in diabetic individuals for 12 weeks, however the percentage reduction in FBG was greater with metformin supplemented with garlic than with metformin alone.
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