What is the Super Power of Garlic? Secondary Metabolites

Garlic is such a perfect antimicrobial supplement. 

It should be on the very top of your list. Garlic protects you from, and fights against a sore throat, cold, and flu.

As you can see from the references below it is also protective against various infectious diseases caused by viruses, fungus, bacteria, and protozoa. 

Garlic is a powerful medicinal food. The Allium family is one of the most successful genera is the plant kingdom with 700 different species in the family. One of the major reasons for their success as a genus is that they have developed a very effective means of protecting themselves from pests such as bacteria, protozoa, fungus, molds and larger critters like insects and foraging animals. 

Exactly what you need to protect yourself against infections. Instead of thorns, they use secondary metabolites for protection. What are these incredibly effective secondary metabolites?

They are specialized constituents with a great influence on the environment of the plant -  not only do these secondary metabolites protect the plants - they help them thrive. When the Allium genera (garlic, onions, leeks, etc.) are damaged or attacked by a pest, they produce a group of compounds (secondary metabolites) called thiosulphanates, which have very strong antimicrobial properties.

The predominate thiosulphanate in fresh crushed garlic is allicin—containing about 70% to 80%. The other thiosulphanates also have antimicrobial properties but we tend to focus on allicin because it is abundant and most importantly the best potent antimicrobial as measure by MICs (minimum inhibitory concentration).

In fact, these beautiful secondary metabolites have shown excellent health-promoting and disease preventing effects on many of our complex chronic diseases, such as cancer, cardiovascular and metabolic disorders, blood pressure, and diabetes, through its antioxidant, anti-inflammatory, and lipid lowering properties, as demonstrated in plethora of in vitro, in vivo, and clinical studies (Ansary, J., 2020).

Garlic: Broad Antimicrobial Support 

References 

• Ansary, J., Forbes-Hernández, T. Y., Gil, E., Cianciosi, D., Zhang, J., Elexpuru-Zabaleta, M., ... & Battino, M. (2020). Potential health benefit of garlic based on human intervention studies: A brief overview. Antioxidants, 9(7), 619.
• Bayan, L., Koulivand, P. H., & Gorji, A. (2014). Garlic: a review of potential therapeutic effects. Avicenna journal of phytomedicine, 4(1), 1.
• Gao, X., Chen, Y., Chen, Z., Xue, Z., Jia, Y., Ma, Q., ... & Chen, H. (2019). Identification and antimicrobial activity evaluation of three peptides from laba garlic and the related mechanism. Food & function, 10(8), 4486-4496.
• Gökalp, F. (2018). The inhibition effect of garlic‐derived compounds on human immunodeficiency virus type 1 and saquinavir. Journal of biochemical and molecular toxicology, 32(11), e22215.
• Gruhlke, M. C., Portz, D., Stitz, M., Anwar, A., Schneider, T., Jacob, C., ... & Slusarenko, A. J. (2010). Allicin disrupts the cell's electrochemical potential and induces apoptosis in yeast. Free Radical Biology and Medicine, 49(12), 1916-1924.
• Madineh, H., Yadollahi, F., Yadollahi, F., Mofrad, E. P., & Kabiri, M. (2017). Impact of garlic tablets on nosocomial infections in hospitalized patients in intensive care units. Electronic physician, 9(4), 4064.
• Serrano, H. D. A., Mariezcurrena-Berasain, M. A., Castillo, A. D. C. G., Carranza, B. V., Pliego, A. B., Rojas, M. T., ... & Rivas-Caceres, R. R. (2020). Antimicrobial resistance of three common molecularly identified pathogenic bacteria to Allium aqueous extracts. Microbial pathogenesis, 142, 104028.
• Chakraborty, D., & Majumder, A. (2020). Garlic (Lahsun)–an immunity booster against SARS-CoV-2. Biotica Research Today, 2(8), 755-757. Article
• Donma, M. M., & Donma, O. (2020). The effects of allium sativum on immunity within the scope of COVID-19 infection. Medical hypotheses, 144, 109934. Abstract
• De, L.C., De, T., 2020. Protective Foods to Develop Immunity of Individuals against COVID 19. Biotica Research Today. 2(5): 287-290.
• Pandey, P., Khan, F., Kumar, A., Srivastava, A., & Jha, N. K. (2021). Screening of potent inhibitors against 2019 novel coronavirus (Covid-19) from Allium sativum and Allium cepa: An in silico approach. Biointerface Res Appl Chem, 11(1), 7981-93. Article

Yours,

Dohrea 

We have developed our products based on scientific research and/or the practical experience of many healthcare practitioners. There is a growing body of literature on food based nutrition and supplements and their application in support of our health. Please use our products under the advisement of your doctor.

Green Facts:

And Garlic for Heart Health:  Ribeiro, M., Alvarenga, L., Cardozo, L. F., Chermut, T. R., Sequeira, J., Moreira, L. D. S. G., ... & Mafra, D. (2021). From the distinctive smell to therapeutic effects: Garlic for cardiovascular, hepatic, gut, diabetes and chronic kidney disease. Clinical Nutrition, 40(7), 4807-4819.

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