Of the many beneficial actions of garlic, inhibition of the growth of cancer is perhaps the most remarkable.

Our previous animal studies demonstrated that aged garlic extract was highly effective, and unlike the approved immunotherapy for human bladder cancer, bacillus Calmette-Gurin (BCG), garlic was effective when added to the diet. To elucidate the mechanism of this antitumor effect, the literature describing antitumor and immune-enhancing effects of garlic is reviewed. Garlic can detoxify carcinogens by stimulation of cytochrome P450 enzymes, antioxidant activity or sulfur compound binding. Studies demonstrate a direct toxic effect of garlic to sarcoma and gastric, colon, bladder and prostate cancer cells in tissue culture, but these effects cannot explain the inhibition of growth of transplanted cancer in animal models. The most likely explanation of this effect is immune stimulation. Comparison of the effects of garlic to BCG immunotherapy reveals many similarities. Both stimulate proliferation of lymphocytes and macrophage phagocytosis, induce the infiltration of macrophages and lymphocytes in transplanted tumors, induce splenic hypertrophy, stimulate release of interleukin-2, tumor necrosis factor- and interferon- , enhance natural killer cell, killer cell and lymphokine-activated killer cell activity. These activities represent effective stimulation of the immune response. Studies suggest that garlic may be useful in preventing the suppression of immune response that is associated with increased risk of malignancy. Data suggest that maintenance of immune stimulation can significantly reduce the risk of cancer. Clinical trials should be initiated to test the hypothesis that the immune stimulation and other beneficial effects of garlic are able to reduce the incidence of cancer. KEY WORDS: immunocopetence garlic cancer bladder mouse \E Transitional cell carcinoma of the bladder is highly susceptible to immunotherapy and is one of a very few human malignancies for which immunotherapy is the current treatment of choice. Immunotherapy with bacillus Calmette-Gurin (BCG)3 is superior to chemotherapy in the treatment of carcinoma in situ of the bladder; unlike chemotherapy, it provides long-term protection from tumor recurrence and disease progression. Clinical efficacy in the treatment of bladder cancer has also been reported with other immunotherapies, including Keyhole limpet hemocyanin (KLH), interleukin-2 (IL-2), interferon- (INF- ) and the interferon inducer, bropirimine. Previous studies have demonstrated that BCG immunotherapy is superior to chemotherapy with thiotepa, doxorubicin or mitomycin in clinical trials, and laboratory studies have suggested the superiority of BCG over alternative immunotherapies. We were, therefore, surprised by the report of Lau et al. (1990) that intralesional aged garlic extract (AGE) was more effective than BCG in the treatment of transplanted transitional cell carcinoma in the mouse model. In an effort to develop improved treatments for bladder cancer, we evaluated AGE in the murine model. These results and the data that suggest that the antitumor activity of garlic may be related at least in part to immune stimulation will be reviewed.

Antitumor activity of garlic

The recorded use of garlic in the treatment of tumors dates all the way back to 1550 BC when ancient Egyptians administered it orally and topically; the modern era, however, begins in the 1950s when Weisberger and Pensky (1958) demonstrated in vitro and in vivo that thiosulfinate extracts of garlic inhibited the growth of malignant cells and prevented growth of sarcoma 180 ascites tumor. Since that time, garlic has been demonstrated in epidemiologic studies to be associated with a reduced risk of stomach cancer (You et al. 1989 ) and, in animal models, to have antitumor activity in sarcoma, mammary carcinoma, hepatoma, colon cancer, and squamous cell carcinoma of the skin and esophagus (Lau et al. 1990 ). These effects appear to be mediated by various mechanisms. Prevention of malignant transformation after the administration of chemical carcinogens may result from inhibition of the activation of procarcinogens by garlics effect on cytochrome P450 enzymes (Dion and Milner 1997 ), antioxidant activity, or detoxification by binding to sulfur compounds in garlic (Abdullah et al. 1988 ). Direct inhibition of cancer cell growth in tissue culture has been documented in sarcoma as well as gastric, colon, bladder and prostate carcinoma cell lines (Knowles and Milner 1997 , Pan et al. 1985 , Weisberger and Pensky 1958 ). The mechanism of direct tumor cell inhibition has not yet been determined. Perhaps the most important action of garlic in the inhibition of cancer and the topic of this review is potentiation of the immune system.

Aged garlic extract as an immunotherapy for bladder cancer

Lau et al. (1986) compared intralesional and intraperitoneal garlic extract therapy with effective immunotherapies for bladder cancer, BCG, Corynebacterium parvum (CP) and KLH in the transplantable murine bladder tumor model MBT2. These experiments demonstrated that intralesional immunotherapy with each of these agents significantly inhibited tumor growth (P < 0.05). Maximal inhibition of tumor growth was seen with CP (250 g) and garlic extract (25 mg). Significant reduction in tumor growth was observed with intraperitoneal CP treatment. Intraperitoneal garlic appeared to reduce tumor growth, although not to the level of statistical significance, and intraperitoneal BCG had no effect. Examination of hematoxylin and eosinstained sections of the transplanted tumors demonstrated necrosis and infiltration with macrophages and lymphocytes. Intralesional BCG and CP induced granuloma formation as well, but no granuloma were seen after treatment with garlic extract. Intraperitoneal garlic treatment produced tumor necrosis and infiltration with macrophages and small lymphocytes, suggesting an immune response. This group (Marsh et al. 1987 ) evaluated these same treatments intravesically after intravesical tumor transplantation. The efficacy of CP, garlic and BCG, but not KLH, was confirmed. Maximal inhibition of tumor growth was again observed with CP and garlic. Comparing treatment schedules of 1, 6, or both 1 and 6 d after tumor transplantation, only garlic treatment achieved statistical significance when given as a single treatment 6 d after transplantation. Microscopic examination of the bladders revealed infiltration of macrophages and small lymphocytes in animals treated with CP, BCG and, to a lesser extent, KLH. Topical garlic treatment resulted in extensive macrophage and neutrophil infiltration, with few

lymphocytes. Splenic weights were significantly increased in all treatment groups relative to untreated controls. Splenic phagocytic function and natural killer (NK) cell cytotoxicity were reported to be significantly increased with both CP and garlic immunotherapy. These experiments suggested that garlic treatment effectively inhibited growth of transitional cell carcinoma in vivo. In view of the recognized toxicity of BCG therapy and the absence of observed toxicity with garlic treatment in these studies, garlic therapy could be an effective treatment alternative for patients with bladder cancer. Data suggested that immune mechanisms might be responsible for the observed beneficial response to garlic. To further establish garlic as a safe and effective treatment for bladder cancer, we evaluated intralesional and oral AGE treatment of transitional cell carcinoma in the murine model (Riggs et al. 1997 ). We confirmed that intralesional garlic extract was highly effective in the treatment of subcutaneously transplanted MBT2 bladder cancer. Inhibition of tumor growth was highly significant (P < 0.001) and similar to that of BCG (Table 1 ). Unfortunately, in contrast to the previous investigators, we observed that repeated intralesional garlic injection was toxic, resulting in death of up to 42% of treated mice. Reduction in the dose and frequency of intralesional garlic injection reduced the toxicity, but our enthusiasm for a clinical trial of intravesical garlic was diminished in view of the newly discovered risk. Because oral garlic has been used for thousands of years, we sought to evaluate oral garlic in the treatment of transplanted bladder cancer. Remarkably, oral AGE when added to drinking water in doses of 5, 50 and 500 mg/100 mL inhibited the growth of transitional cell carcinoma in a dose-dependent manner (Table 2 ). Significant inhibition of tumor growth was seen at the 50 and 500 mg/mL dose (P = 0.023 and P < 0.001, respectively), and significant improvement in survival (10 of 20, 50% vs. 4 of 20, 20% control, P = 0.048) was seen with the 500 mg/mL dose. No adverse effect of oral garlic administration was seen. Animal weights did not differ among groups and water intake was highest in the group with the highest concentration of AGE. Because no toxicity was observed and antitumor effect was highest in the group with the highest oral garlic intake, it is possible that higher doses may be even more effective. Studies to identify the optimal oral dose of garlic in the treatment of bladder cancer are in progress.

Evidence for immunologic antitumor action of garlic

We observed that garlic has direct dose-dependent toxicity to cultured transitional cell carcinoma cells, but only at doses 15 mg/mL, concentrations that are not practical with

systemic administration (Riggs et al. 1997 ). The remarkable efficacy of oral, intravesical and intralesional AGE is therefore clearly not related to direct cytotoxicity alone. The alternative antitumor mechanisms of detoxification of carcinogens, antioxidant activity and inhibition of procarcinogens similarly cannot explain the inhibition of growth of transplanted cancer. Of the currently recognized effects of garlic, only immune stimulation can logically explain the observed inhibition of growth of transplanted cancer. What evidence supports immune stimulation as an important antitumor effect of garlic? One approach to answer this question is to compare the reported effects of garlic with a recognized, Food and Drug Administrationapproved, clinically useful cancer immunotherapy such as BCG. The effects of garlic on murine transitional cell carcinoma are remarkably similar to those of BCG. Both inhibit tumor growth, and microscopic examination of the site of tumor transplantation reveals infiltration with macrophages and lymphocytes. BCG, but not garlic, induces granuloma formation. In animal models, both BCG and garlic induce hypertrophy of the reticuloendothelial system as measured by splenic hypertrophy. Garlic, like BCG, increases NK cell activity. Intravesical BCG administration results in the release of cytokines in the urine, and elevation of urinary cytokines, particularly IL-2, tumor necrosis factor- (TNF- ), and INF- , is associated with antitumor activity. In animal studies, AGE is reported to induce the release of IL-2, TNF- , and INF- (Kyo et al. 1998 ). Enhanced phagocytosis, one of the first immunostimulatory actions reported with BCG, is seen with garlic administration (Kyo et al. 1998 ). Additional activities seen with both BCG and garlic include enhanced killer cell activity and immunoproliferation of lymphocytes in response to mitogen stimulation (Kyo et al. 1998 ). These effects, particularly the pattern of cytokine release, suggest that garlic, like BCG, stimulates a Th1 cellular immune response that is characteristic of effective antitumor immunotherapies. The component in garlic that is responsible for the effective immune stimulation is not known conclusively, and it is likely that multiple ingredients are immunologically active. A protein fraction from garlic is known to augment in vitro macrophage cytotoxicity and phagocytosis as well as stimulate lymphocyte proliferation (Hirao et al. 1987 ). The protein fraction 4 (F4) from garlic has been demonstrated to enhance the cytotoxicity of human peripheral blood lymphocytes against NK-sensitive (K562) and NK-resistant (M14) cell lines (Morioka et al. 1993 ). These effects were markedly augmented by the addition of low doses of IL-2. The combination was also more effective in inducing lymphokine-activated killer cell activity. F4 enhanced IL-2 or conconavalin Ainduced proliferation of lymphocytes and IL-2 receptor expression. The enhanced cytotoxicity induced by F4 and F4 plus IL-2 was abolished by anti-IL-2 antibody, suggesting that the activity of F4 is mediated by IL-2 (Morioka et al. 1993 ). These data suggest that the F4 fraction of garlic is an efficient immunopotentiator that may be effective in cancer immunotherapy.

Although the F4 fraction of garlic is clearly an immune stimulant, it is not the only immunologically active ingredient in garlic. Therefore, F4 may not be entirely responsible for the observed beneficial response in transplanted tumors. In studies of the effect of diallyl disulfide on the growth of transplanted human colon carcinoma cell lines in immunologically compromised nude mice, Sundaram and Milner (1996) found diallyl disulfide to be as effective as 5-fluorouracil (5-FU) in inhibiting tumor growth. Combining the diallyl disulfide and 5-FU did not increase the effect, but concurrent diallyl disulfide treatment did significantly reduce the depression of leukocyte counts and splenic weight associated with chemotherapy administration (Sundaram and Milner 1996 ). In another study, Geng et al. (1997) examined the effects of S-allyl cysteine, a watersoluble constituent of garlic that inhibits chemical carcinogen-induced colon and mammary tumors in animals and inhibits the growth of neuroblastoma and melanoma in vitro. In studies of human T cells, S-allyl cysteine was found to inhibit activation of the nuclear protein of the Rel oncogene family (nuclear factor- B). This protein, which is induced by TNF- or H2O2, regulates immune function, inflammation and cellular growth (Geng et al. 1997 ). These studies suggest that low-molecular-weight compounds as well as proteins found in garlic have antitumor and immune effects.

Prevention of immune suppression

Immune surveillance offers protection from cancer and from impairment of immune defenses, as occurs with conditions ranging from abnormalities such as acquired immunodeficiency syndrome (AIDS) to the normal aging process. In addition to enhancing NK function in AIDS patients, garlic is reported to improve age-related deterioration of learning behavior and impairment of immune response in a mouse model (Zhang et al. 1997 ). The most common carcinogen, ultraviolet irradiation, appears to be inhibited by garlic. UV irradiation damages DNA and induces a specific defect in T-cell immunity, impairing the recognition of UV-induced malignancy. Most interestingly, oral garlic administration is found to protect from photoimmunosuppression (Reeve et al. 1997 ). Induction of an impaired immune response by the tumor itself is an effective means to escape destruction by host surveillance mechanisms. It is not known whether garlic can reduce the inhibition of immune response induced by tumor, but the observed responses are certainly compatible with this hypothesis. Protection from immune suppression is potentially an important mechanism in preventing the development of malignancy. For example, in our experience with maintenance BCG immunotherapy in patients with superficial bladder cancer, stimulation of the immune system for a period of 3 y not only protects from recurrence of bladder cancer, but significantly reduces the incidence of other malignancies as well (Lamm et al. 1999 ). Additional evidence that garlic potentiates immune responses is provided from other studies as well. In a study of the effect of garlic on the neuroendocrine and immunomodulation network, Zhang et al. (1997) reported that AGE improves age-related deterioration of learning behavior as well as impaired immune response in a mouse model. Garlic increased not only lymphocyte proliferation, as seen in other studies, but antibody production as well (Zhang et al. 1997 ).

Further study will be required to identify the active ingredients in garlic that are responsible for the observed antitumor activity and immune stimulation. Data now suggest that low-molecular-weight sulfur compounds and F4 have immune-stimulating properties and also that garlic can detoxify chemical carcinogens to prevent carcinogenesis and directly inhibit the growth of cancer cells. Garlic appears to stimulate immunity including macrophage activity, NK and killer cells, and lymphokine activated killer cells, and it increases production of IL-2,TNF, and INF- . These cytokines are associated with the beneficial Th1 antitumor response, which is characteristic of effective cancer immunotherapies. Like BCG, garlic stimulates proliferation of macrophages and lymphocytes, and also protects against suppression of immunity by chemotherapy and UV radiation. Garlic is clearly not a panacea for cancer, but its broad range of beneficial effects warrants serious consideration in clinical trials for the prevention and treatment of cancer.

Fighting Infection without Antibiotics We have been putting out the slogan, "say no to drugs, say yes to herbs" for several years now. One of the drugs I'd like to see people start saying "NO" to is antibiotics. However, people are scared not to take antibiotics when they are sick. They are even more scared not to give them to their kids. I am no stranger to antibiotics, I was raised on them. For the first twenty years of my life my sinuses were always stuffed and I had to breathe through my mouth. I was always getting sick (colds, coughs, sore throats, sinus headaches, etc.) and I was always taken to the doctor, who always gave me antibiotics. I was probably taking penicillin an average of two to three months each year. Starting at about 14 the doctor gave me penicillin every day for a period of about two years. This was supposed to clear up my sinusitis. It only made it worse. By age 19, I was getting sick all the time. I wound up with walking pneumonia and had to take both tetracyclin and ampicillin, since penicillin did not do anything for me anymore. It was shortly after this I got into natural health and quit using the antibiotics. As far as I can remember I have used an antibiotic three times in the last 15-20 years and I am not certain I would use one again, if I had the same problems. Most of you probably know that antibiotics contribute to yeast infections, which weaken the immune system. You probably know that they kill the friendly bacteria in your colon, too. I have always felt that antibiotics make the body lazy because they are doing something for the body that it should be doing for itself. However, I think there may even be deeper problems here. At the American Herbalist Guild 1997 symposium, Paul Bergner, N.D. and editor of Medical Herbalism, said something about antibiotics which really set me to thinking. He said that he has not been able to find any convincing proof that antibiotics kill bacteria in living tissue. They do so in the test tube, but that does not mean they are doing it inside the human body. He suggested that antibiotics might just be suppressing symptoms of

infection. Let me elaborate. Most of you know that I have been teaching for years that "the cold is the cure." That is to say, symptoms of acute illness are produced by the body's immune system fighting the disease. Fever, coughing, etc. are all signs that the body's immune response is working to fight the illness. Dr. Bergner said that Herring's Law of Cure was developed from observations made at a homeopathic hospital. It appears that smallpox went through one wing of the hospital and all the patients came down with the disease. When they got the smallpox, the symptoms of their original illness, mumps, fever, etc. disappeared. After successfully treating the patients homeopathically for smallpox, however, the original disease they had returned. What Dr. Herring hypothesized was this: When the body is fighting off one disease, and another more serious threat is presented to the body, the body will quit fighting off the first disease and tackle the more serious problem. Once the system has rid itself of the more serious threat, it will go back to work on the less serious illness. This is why Herring's law tells us that the body heals "in reverse order of symptoms suppressed." In his lecture, Paul Bergner, said that when people have infections they are manifesting good symptoms of a healing crisis, fever, inflammation, etc. Then, we introduce an antibiotic, a concentrated mold toxin, into the system. The body takes a look at the mold toxin and says, "Wo! We have a serious threat here." So, it quits fighting the infection and starts working to get rid of the mold toxin. Thus, the symptoms of infection disappear. However, shortly after the person quits taking the antibiotic (often in about two to four weeks) the person gets sick again. You see, now that the body has successfully fought the invasion of mold toxin, it goes back to fighting the original illness. This means that the antibiotic has not cured anything, it has merely replaced one disease with another. It also explains why people who constantly take antibiotics (like I used to) keep getting sicker and sicker. They are merely suppressing the body's efforts to get well. I am too chicken to tell you never to use an antibiotic. In fact, even since I decided antibiotics were not good for the body about fifteen years ago, I've broken down on three occasions and gotten one myself. Twice I got them for my ears - once when my eardrum ruptured and once when I could not seem to get rid of an ear infection. In both of these cases I do not think the antibiotic helped one bit. The third time was an infection on my finger that I could not seem to heal. That time the antibiotic seemed to help. So, maybe sometimes the body does need a little suppression of symptoms. However, most of the time, I feel the natural alternatives are so superior in their effectiveness, that I am seldom tempted to even consider antibiotics from the doctor. Here are some of my favorite infection fighting remedies. Garlic In my opinion, garlic is the king of natural infection fighters. Although it is useful for almost any type of infection, bacterial, yeast or viral, it excels at fighting infection in the respiratory and lymphatic systems. When I'm really serious about knocking something out I use raw garlic. I've taken one or two cloves, chopped them finely and swallowed the pieces with some water and a little bread or crackers (to reduce stomach upset).

I've also used the garlic oil or garlic oil capsules, both topically and internally. Lately, I've taken to using the High Potency Garlic from NSP. I have been given to understand that each of these tablets is equivalent to about four cloves of raw garlic in potency. This form of garlic is nice, since it doesn't produce the odor or the stomach upset of raw garlic. I am not timid about using garlic for infection. I have taken as much as two cloves or one high potency garlic tablet every two hours for a couple of days to clear up a problem. I've rubbed garlic oil on my children's chests two or three times per day and I have given them a half dropperful or the contents of a soft gel capsule every 30 minutes for a couple of hours. Silver Shield (Colloidal Silver) Next to garlic, my favorite antibiotic has become colloidal silver. A colloid is a microfine suspension of something in a solution. Silver has long been known to have a preserving and anti-bacterial action. A few years ago I learned that one of the ways to purify water is to put some silver coins in it. This is what the pioneers did to preserve their water in their barrels while traveling across the plains. Silver coins also used to be put into milk to prevent it from spoiling. Colloidal silver seems to work very well in fighting bacterial infection. I used it on our son, Joshua, because of his weak immune system. I have used it in both his ears and my ears to help fight infection. It has an antiinflammatory quality to it. Goldenseal or Oregon grape Goldenseal has long been used to fight infection. However, as I mentioned before, I am trying to steer people in the direction of using Oregon grape as an alternative in order to preserve our wild populations of goldenseal. Oregon grape is also cheaper and does not lower blood sugar levels like goldenseal. All of these herbs contain berberine, an alkaloid known to help the body destroy a number of harmful bacteria. These herbs also tone the mucous membranes, stimulate the liver and help to cleanse the lymphatics. Goldenseal has its strongest affinity for the digestive tract, while Oregon grape is more for the lymphatics and barberry for the liver. These herbs combine well with immune stimulants like echinacea and astragalus. They help the body fight off bacterial infection without promoting yeast overgrowth. Once, when I had an abscess on a tooth and the dentist wanted me to take an antibiotic, I went home and took 4 capsules of goldenseal and two raw garlic cloves every two hours for two or three days. Not only did I clear the infection naturally, I also had a healing crisis doing this. My body passed a residue of tetracycline and ampicillin from my sinuses. It had been over fifteen years since I had taken these antibiotics for pneumonia and they had lodged in my body all those years. Do you see why I am not so hot on antibiotics? Volatile Oils For some serious infections, I hae found that blends of volatile oils work wonders. Tea Tree oil, of course, is a classic. It is a wonderful topical antiseptic. Unlike it's

pharmaceutical counterparts which damage healthy tissue and slow healing, tea tree oil actually stimulates growth of healthy tissue and speeds healing. It can be applied externally to cuts, scrapes, wounds, bruises, burns, etc. You can also gargle with it if you dilute a few drops to a couple of ounces of water. You have to be very careful when taking volatile oils internally, since they are very potent substances. Tea tree oil can be used internally when diluted to a strength of one to five drops per pint of water. However, I have often mixed more potent volatile oil blends and diluted them with olive oil (ten to one) to fight serious infections. My favorite oils for this purpose, besides tea tree oil, of course, are: lemon, lavender, thyme, myrrh and cloves. You'll need to do more research on your own, however, before you start experimenting with volatile oils internally. Another useful infection fighter is IN-X. IN-X contains goldenseal, parthenium, black walnut, plantain, althea and bugleweed. Black walnut has antiseptic properties and supplies natural iodine to the body, which is a powerful infection fighter. Althea has been used for respiratory problems. Plantain is an anti-poison herb, and bugleweed has been used for respiratory and circulatory problems. IN-X works well in combination with extra garlic for fighting low grade infections in the body. Most of the time, these herbal remedies will actually work better at fighting infection than antibiotics will. Just remember not to be timid about using them. I typically take some of these herbs about every two hours when infection is present. Also remember that these remedies are not necessarily the best for viral infections like colds and flu. Frankly, no one should take an antibiotic for a cold or the flu anyway, since antibiotics don't have any affect on viruses. Doctors know this, they just prescribe the antibiotic for people because that's what they think people want.

Garlic has been used for centuries as a medicinal herb. It has been cultivated in the Middle East for more than 5,000 years and has been an important part of Traditional Chinese Medicine. The bulb is used medicinally. It has been traditionally used for many conditions, including parasites, respiratory problems, poor digestion, and low energy. It has these constituents:

Highest sulphur content of any plant in the Allium genus. Trace elements: germanium, selenium Volatile oil containing sulphur compounds Amino acids allin and allicin.

Benefits of Garlic Dosage Side Effects

Benefits of Garlic
Clinical Applications include:

Antioxidant protection Atherosclerosis Prevention of thrombosis Hypertension Acute rhinitis Influenza Infectious bronchitis Benign prostate hyperplasia Colon cancer High cholesterol High triglycerides Intermittent claudication Warts (used topically).

Our review of the medical literature reveals the following information about the use of garlic extracts.

Antioxidant Protection

Allicin increases blood levels of two antioxidant enzymes: catalase and glutathione peroxidase. Acts as an effective antioxidants against the oxidative damage caused by nicotine.

Protects vascular endothelial cells from oxidant injury. Prevents LDL oxidation. Inhibits lipid peroxidation in the liver, retarding the aging process in liver cells. Oxygen free radicals are involved in the genesis and maintenance of hypercholesterolemic atherosclerosis it can be useful in preventing the development of hypercholesterolemic atherosclerosis.

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Anti-Atherogenic

Helps in preventing the development of hypercholesterolemic atherosclerosis. Reduces lipid content in arterial cells and prevents intracellular lipid accumulation. Counteracts the effects of a high-sucrose diet in lab animals, minimizing elevations in triglycerides and cholesterol. Minimizes or prevents elevations in blood lipids in humans after consumption of a high-fat / cholesterol meal. The organic disulphides in garlic can inactivate the thiol groups in the enzyme HMG CoA reductase , thereby inhibiting cholesterol synthesis by the liver. Not only a preventive but possibly also a curative role in arteriosclerosis therapy (plaque regression) may be ascribed to garlic remedies. Lowers total cholesterol by 10%; lowers LDL-cholesterol by 15%; lowers triglycerides by 13%; increases HDL-cholesterol by 31%.

Anti-Thrombotic

The constituent ajoene inhibits platelet aggregation regardless of mechanism of induction. Serves as beneficial agent in the prevention of thrombosis. Inhibits thrombosis due to vascular damage. Increases fibrolytic activity.

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Anti-hypertensive (high blood pressure)

Lowers systolic pressure by 20-30 mm Hg and diastolic by 10-20 mm Hg. Inhibits in vitro the enzyme cyclo-oxygenase, which can produce proinflammatory and hypertensive prostaglandins.

Anti-Microbial

1 mg garlic = 15 Oxford units of penicillin. Garlic has 1% of the potency of penicillin. Inhibits Candida albicans in animal studies and Cryptococcal meningitis in human trials. Exhibits broad-spectrum antimicrobial activity: o Gram-positive bacteria: Bacillus cereus, Bacillus subtilis, Mycobacterium smegmatis, Streptomyces griseus, Staphylococcus aureus, Lactobacillus plantarum. o Gram-negative bacteria: Escherichia coli, Klebsiella pneumoniae, and Xanthomonas maltophilia. Demonstrates in vitro virucidal activity against herpes simplex virus type 1, herpes simplex virus type 2, parainfluenza virus type 3, vaccinia virus, vesicular stomatitis virus, and human rhinovirus type 2.

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Dosage

Cardiovascular preventive intervention - Commercial preparation to provide at least 4,000 mcg of allicin daily which is equivalent to 2-4 cloves of fresh garlic. Immune support - 4,000 mcg of allicin 3 times daily.

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Side Effects
Be cautious if you are taking anticoagulant drugs. Some people experience gastric irritation even at moderate doses. Other people have difficulty metabolizing allicin effectively.