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'''Allium sativum'' L.', commonly known as 'garlic', is a species in the onion family Alliaceae. Its close relatives include the onion, shallot, and leek.
Garlic has been used throughout recorded history for both culinary and medicinal purposes. It has a characteristic pungent, 'hot', flavour that mellows and sweetens considerably with cooking.^[1] A 'head' of garlic, the most commonly used plant part, comprises numerous discrete 'cloves'. The leaves and stems are sometimes eaten, particularly while immature and tender.
So-called elephant garlic is a different species (a form of leek).

Contents

Origin and distribution

Uses

Culinary uses

Storage

Historical use

Medicinal use and health benefits

Properties

Superstition and mythology

Cautions

References

Notes

Bibliography

External links

Origin and distribution

The ancestry of cultivated garlic, according to Zohary and Hopf, is not definitely established: "a difficulty in the identification of its wild progenitor is the sterility of the cultivars."^[2]
''Allium sativum'' grows in the wild in areas where it has become naturalised; it probably descended from the species ''Allium longicuspis'', which grows wild in south-western Asia.^[3] The 'wild garlic', 'crow garlic' and 'field garlic' of Britain are the species ''Allium ursinum'', ''Allium vineale'' and ''Aleum oleraceum'', respectively. In North America, 'Allium vineale'', known as 'wild-' or 'crow garlic', and ''Allium candadensis'', known as 'meadow-' or 'wild garlic', are common weeds in fields.^[4]

Uses

Culinary uses

Garlic is widely used around the world for its pungent flavour, as a seasoning or condiment. Depending on the form of cooking, the flavor is either mellow or intense. It is often paired with onion, tomato, or ginger. The parchment-like skin is much like the skin of an onion, and is typically removed before using in raw or cooked form. An alternative is to coat heads of garlic and roast them in the oven. The garlic softens and can be extracted from individual cloves by squeezing one end.
Oils are often flavored with garlic cloves. Commercially prepared oils are widely available, but when preparing garlic-infused oil at home, there is a risk of botulism if the product is not stored properly. To reduce this risk, the oil should be refrigerated and used within one week. Manufacturers add chemicals and/or acids to eliminate the risk of botulism in their products.^[5]
In Chinese cuisine, the young bulbs are pickled for 3–6 weeks in a mixture of sugar, salt and spices. In Russia and the Caucasus, the shoots are pickled and eaten as an appetizer.
Immature scapes are tender and edible. They are also known as 'garlic spears', 'stems', or 'tops'. Scapes generally have a milder taste than cloves. They are often used in stir frying or prepared like asparagus. Garlic leaves are a popular vegetable in many parts of Asia, particularly Chinese, Vietnamese, and Cambodian cuisines. The leaves are cut, cleaned and then stir-fried with eggs, meat, or vegetables.
Garlic is essential to several Mediterranean dishes.
Mixing garlic with egg and olive oil produces aioli ("garlic and oil" in Provençal).
Garlic, oil, and a chunky base produce skordalia (from the Greek and Italian names of garlic). Blending garlic, almond, oil and soaked bread produces ajoblanco (''ajo blanco'' is Spanish for "white garlic"). Le Tourin is a French garlic soup.

Storage

Domestically, garlic is stored warm (above 18° C) and dry, to keep it dormant (so that it does not sprout).
It is traditionally hung, either in long braided strands called "plaits", or in short plaits called "grappes"
Pictures.
Commercially, garlic is stored at 0° C, also dry ^[6].

Historical use

From the earliest times garlic has been used as a food. It formed part of the diet of the Israelites in Egypt (Numbers 11:5) and of the labourers employed by Khufu in constructing the pyramid. Garlic is still grown in Egypt, but the Syrian variety is the kind most esteemed now (see Rawlinson's ''Herodotus'', 2.125).
It was consumed by the ancient Greek and Roman soldiers, sailors and rural classes (Virgil, ''Ecologues'' ii. 11), and, according to Pliny the Elder (''Natural History'' xix. 32), by the African peasantry. Galen eulogizes it as the "rustic's theriac" (cure-all) (see F Adams's ''Paulus Aegineta'', p. 99), and Alexander Neckam, a writer of the 12th century (see Wright's edition of his works, p. 473, 1863), recommends it as a palliative of the heat of the sun in field labor.
In his ''Natural History'' Pliny gives an exceedingly long list of scenarios in which it was considered beneficial (''N.H.'' xx. 23). Dr. T. Sydenham valued it as an application in confluent smallpox, and, says Cullen (''Mat. Med.'' ii. p. 174, 1789), found some dropsies cured by it alone. Early in the 20th century, it was sometimes used in the treatment of pulmonary tuberculosis or phthisis.

Garlic was rare in traditional English cuisine (though it is said to have been grown in England before 1548), and has been a much more common ingredient in Mediterranean Europe. Garlic was placed by the ancient Greeks on the piles of stones at cross-roads, as a supper for Hecate (Theophrastus, ''Characters, The Superstitious Man''); and according to Pliny, garlic and onions were invoked as deities by the Egyptians at the taking of oaths. The inhabitants of Pelusium in lower Egypt, who worshipped the onion, are said to have had an aversion to both onions and garlic as food.
To prevent the plant from running to leaf, Pliny (''N.H.'' xix. 34) advised bending the stalk downward and covering with earth; seeding, he observes, may be prevented by twisting the stalk (by "seeding", he most likely means the development of small, less potent bulbs).

Medicinal use and health benefits

'Components of garlic'
'Phytochemicals'	'Nutrients'
Allicin	Calcium
Beta-carotene	Folate
Beta-sitosterol	Iron
Caffeic acid	Magnesium
Chlorogenic acid	Manganese
Diallyl disulfide	Phosphorus
Ferulic acid	Potassium
Geraniol	Selenium
Kaempferol	Zinc
Linalool	Vitamin B1 (Thiamine)
Oleanolic acid	Vitamin B2 (Riboflavin)
P-coumaric acid	Vitamin B3 (Niacin)
Phloroglucinol	Vitamin C
Phytic acid
Quercetin
Rutin
S-Allyl cysteine
Saponin
Sinapic acid
Stigmasterol
Alliin
''Source: Balch p 97''[7]

Garlic has been used as both food and medicine in many cultures for thousands of years, dating as far back as the time that the Egyptian pyramids were built. Garlic is claimed to help prevent heart disease including atherosclerosis, high cholesterol, high blood pressure, and cancer.^[8]
However, a rigorous, NIH-funded clinical trial published in ''Archives of Internal Medicine'' on 26 February 2007 found that consumption of garlic, in any form, did not reduce cholesterol levels in patients with moderately high baseline levels.^[9][10]
With regard to this clinical trial, Heart.org reports, "Despite decades of research suggesting that garlic can improve cholesterol profiles, a new NIH-funded trial found absolutely no effects of raw garlic or garlic supplements on LDL, HDL, or triglycerides." The website says, "The findings underscore the hazards of meta-analyses made up of small, flawed studies and the value of rigorously studying popular herbal remedies."^[11] However, while garlic may not lower cholesterol levels in the bloodstream, this study does not contradict studies that show that garlic protects arteries from that cholesterol. For example, a Czech study found garlic supplementation reduced accumulation of cholesterol on vascular walls of animals.^[12] Another study had similar results, with garlic supplementation significantly reducing the placque in the aortas of cholesterol-fed rabbits.^[13] Another study showed that supplementation with garlic extract inhibited vascular calcification in human patients with high blood cholesterol.^[14]
A study published in ''Preventive Medicine'' shows that garlic inhibits coronary artery calcification, a process that serves as a marker for plaque formation since the body lays down calcium in areas that have been damaged. In this year-long study, patients given aged garlic extract daily showed an average increase in their calcium score of 7.5%, while those in the placebo group had an average increase in calcium score of 22.2%.
According to a study published in Life Sciences, a daily dose of 1 ml/kg body weight of garlic extract for six months resulted in a significant reduction in oxidant (free radical) stress in the blood of patients with atherosclerosis. A German study published in Toxicology Letters indicates that garlic also greatly reduces plaque deposition and size by preventing the formation of the initial complex that develops into an atherosclerotic plaque.
Research presented at the 6th Annual Conference on Arteriosclerosis, Thrombosis and Vascular Biology held by the American Heart Association in Washington, D.C., suggests that garlic can help prevent and potentially reverse atherosclerotic plaque formation. The laboratory studies reported that powdered garlic reduced the formation of nanoplaque (the first building blocks of atherosclerotic plaque) by up to 40% and reduced the size of the nanoplaque that did form by up to 20%.
Laboratory research by US and Swedish scientists published in the August 2005 ''Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences'' found that compounds in garlic responsible for its pungency also excite a neuron pathway, potentially providing cardiovascular benefits.
In 2007 a BBC news story reported that ''Allium sativum'' may have beneficial properties, such as preventing and fighting the common cold.^[15] This assertion has the backing of long tradition. Traditional British herbalism used garlic for hoarseness and coughs, both as a syrup and in a salve made of garlic and lard, which was rubbed on the chest and back.^[16] The Cherokee also used it as an expectorant for coughs and croup.^[17]
''Allium sativum'' has been found to reduce platelet aggregation and hyperlipidemia.^[18][19]
Garlic is also alleged to help regulate blood sugar levels. Regular and prolonged use of therapeutic amounts of aged garlic extracts lower blood homocysteine levels, and has shown to prevent some complications of diabetes mellitus.^[20][21] People taking insulin should not consume medicinal amounts of garlic without consulting a physician. In such applications, garlic must be fresh and uncooked, or the allicin will be lost.
''Allium sativum'' may also possess cancer-fighting properties due to the presence of allylic sulfur compounds such as diallyl disulfide (DADs), believed to be an anticarcinogen.^[22]
In 1858, Louis Pasteur observed garlic's antibacterial activity, and it was used as an antiseptic to prevent gangrene during World War I and World War II.^[23] More recently it has been found from a clinical trial that a mouthwash containing 2.5% fresh garlic shows good antimicrobial activity, although the majority of the participants reported an unpleasant taste and halitosis.^[24]
In modern naturopathy, garlic is used as a treatment for intestinal worms and other intestinal parasites, both orally and as an anal suppository. Garlic cloves are used as a remedy for infections (especially chest problems), digestive disorders, and fungal infections such as thrush.
Garlic supplementation in rats along with a high protein diet has been shown to boost testosterone levels.^[25]

Properties

When crushed, ''Allium sativum'' yields allicin, a powerful antibiotic and anti-fungal compound (phytoncide). It also contains alliin, ajoene, enzymes, vitamin B, minerals, and flavonoids.
The percentage composition of the bulbs is given by E. Solly (''Trans. Hon. Soc. Loud.'', new ser., iii. p. 60) as water 84.09%, organic matter 13.38%, and inorganic matter 1.53% - that of the leaves being water 87.14%, organic matter 11.27% and inorganic matter 1.59%.

The phytochemicals responsible for the sharp flavor of garlic are produced when the plant's cells are damaged. When a cell is broken by chopping, chewing, or crushing, enzymes stored in cell vacuoles trigger the breakdown of several sulfur-containing compounds stored in the cell fluids. The resultant compounds are responsible for the sharp or hot taste and strong smell of garlic. Some of the compounds are unstable and continue to evolve over time. Among the members of the onion family, garlic has by far the highest concentrations of initial reaction products, making garlic much more potent than onions, shallots, or leeks.^[26] Although people have come to enjoy the taste of garlic, these compounds are believed to have evolved as a defensive mechanism, deterring animals like birds, insects, and worms from eating the plant.^[27]
A large number of sulfur compounds contribute to the smell and taste of garlic. Diallyl disulfide is believed to be an important odour component. Allicin has been found to be the compound most responsible for the spiciness of raw garlic. This chemical opens thermoTRP (transient receptor potential) channels that are responsible for the burning sense of heat in foods. The process of cooking garlic removes allicin, thus mellowing its spiciness.^[28]
When eaten in quantity, garlic may be strongly evident in the diner's sweat and breath the following day. This is because garlic's strong smelling sulfur compounds are metabolized forming allyl methyl sulfide. ''Allyl methyl sulfide'' (AMS) cannot be digested and is passed into the blood. It is carried to the lungs and the skin where it is excreted. Since digestion takes several hours, and release of AMS several hours more, the effect of eating garlic may be present for a long time.
This well-known phenomenon of "garlic breath" is alleged to be alleviated by eating fresh parsley. The herb is, therefore, included in many garlic recipes, such as Pistou and Persillade. However, since the odour results mainly from digestive processes placing compounds such as AMS in the blood, and AMS is then released through the lungs over the course of many hours, eating parsley provides only a temporary masking. One way of accelerating the release of AMS from the body is the use of a sauna. Due to its strong odor, garlic is sometimes called the "stinking rose".
Because garlic passes into the bloodstream, it can be a useful mosquito repellent. This is most likely the cause of the myth that vampires hate garlic.

Superstition and mythology

Garlic has been regarded as a force for both good and evil. A Christian myth considers that after Satan left the Garden of Eden, garlic arose in his left footprint, and onion in the right.^[29] In Europe, many cultures have used garlic for protection or white magic, perhaps owing to its reputation as a potent preventative medicine.^[30] Central European folk beliefs considered garlic a powerful ward against demons, werewolves, and vampires.^[30] To ward off vampires, garlic could be worn, hung in windows or rubbed on chimneys and keyholes.^[32]
The association of garlic to evil spirits may be based on the antibacterial, antiparasitic value of garlic, which could prevent infections that lead to delusions, and other related mental illness symptoms.^[33][34]

Cautions

★ Known adverse effects of garlic include halitosis (non-bacterial), indigestion, nausea, emesis and diarrhea.^[35]

★ Garlic should not be taken with warfarin, antiplatelets, saquinavir, antihypertensives, or hypoglycemic drugs.

★ Cases of botulism have been caused by consuming garlic-in-oil preparations. It is important to add acid when creating these mixtures and to keep them refrigerated to retard bacterial growth.^[36]

★ Whilst culinary quantities are considered safe during pregnancy and breastfeeding, extremely large quantities of garlic and garlic supplements have been linked with a raised risk of bleeding. Garlic may cause abortion. Some breastfeeding mothers have found their babies slow to feed and have noted a garlic odour coming from their baby when they have consumed garlic.^[37]

★ The side effects of long-term garlic supplementation, if any exist, are largely unknown and no FDA-approved study has been performed. However, garlic has been consumed for several thousand years without any adverse long-term effects, suggesting that modest quantities of garlic pose, at worst, minimal risks to normal individuals.

★ There have been several reports of serious burns resulting from garlic being applied topically for various purposes, including naturopathic uses and acne treatment.^[38] On the basis of numerous reports of such burns, including burns to children, topical use of raw garlic, as well as insertion of raw garlic into body cavities is strongly discouraged and could lead to serious injury. In particular, topical application of raw garlic to young children is extremely risky.^[39]

References

Notes

1. Spice Pages: Garlic (Allium sativum, garlick) Gernot Katzer
2. Daniel Zohary and Maria Hopf, ''Domestication of plants in the Old World'', third edition (Oxford: University Press, 2000), p. 197
3. Saulnkhe and Kadam p. 397
4. McGee p. 112
5. http://www.hc-sc.gc.ca/iyh-vsv/food-aliment/garlic-ail_e.html
6. http://postharvest.ucdavis.edu/Produce/ProduceFacts/Veg/garlic.shtml
7. Balch, Phyllis A. (2000). ''Prescription for Nutritional Healing'', 3rd ed. New York: Avery. p. 97.
8. University of Maryland Garlic
9. Garlic - What We Know and What We Don't Know Retrieved 27 February 2007
10. Effect of Raw Garlic vs Commercial Garlic Supplements on Plasma Lipid Concentrations in Adults With Moderate Hypercholesterolemia - A Randomized Clinical Trial Retrieved 26 February 2007
11. Goodbye, garlic? Randomized controlled trial of raw garlic and supplements finds no effect on lipids Retrieved 27 February 2007
12. Sovova M, Sova P. Pharmaceutical importance of Allium sativum L. 5. Hypolipemic effects in vitro and in vivo. Ceska Slov Farm. 2004 May;53(3):117-23. [1]
13. Durak A, Ozturk HS, Olcay E, Guven C. Effects of garlic extract supplementation on blood lipid and antioxidant parameters and atherosclerotic plaque formation process of cholesterol-fed rabbits. J Herb Pharmcother. 2002;2(2):19-32. [2]
14. Durak I, Kavutcu M, Aytac B, et al. Effects of garlic extract consumption on blood lipid and oxidant/antioxidant parameters in humans with high blood cholesterol. J Nutr Biochem. 2004 Jun;15(6):373-7. [3]
15. Garlic 'prevents common cold' 2007
16. [Grieve, Maud. (Mrs.). Garlic. A Modern Herbal. Hypertext version of the 1931 edition. Accessed: December 18, 2006. http://botanical.com/botanical/mgmh/g/garlic06.html]
17. Hamel, Paul B. and Mary U. Chiltoskey 1975 Cherokee Plants and Their Uses -- A 400 Year History. Sylva, N.C. Herald Publishing Co. (p. 35)
18. NCBI
19. NCBI
20. People with diabetes should say 'yes' to garlic by Patricia Andersen-Parrado, Better Nutrition, Sept 1996
21. Garlic - University of Maryland Medical Center
22. Abstract NCBI
23. Health effects of garlic American Family Physician by Ellen Tattelman, July 1, 2005
24. Groppo, F.; Ramacciato, J.; Motta, R.; Ferraresi, P.; Sartoratto, A. (2007) "Antimicrobial activity of garlic against oral streptococci." Int. J. Dent. Hyg., 5:109–115.
25. [4]
26. McGee p. 310–311
27. Macpherson ''et al.'' section "Conclusion"
28. Macpherson ''et al.''
29. Cassell's Dictionary of Superstitions, Pickering, David, , , Sterling Publishing, 2003, ISBN 0-304-36561-0 p. 211
30. In Search of Dracula, McNally, Raymond T, , , Houghton Mifflin, 1994, ISBN 0-395-65783-0 p. 120.
31. In Search of Dracula, McNally, Raymond T, , , Houghton Mifflin, 1994, ISBN 0-395-65783-0 p. 120.
32. McNalley p. 122; Pickering p. 211.
33. University of Maryland Garlic
34. Neurodegenerative diseases
35. Garlic Supplements
36. http://www.colostate.edu/Orgs/safefood/NEWSLTR/v2n4s08.html
37. Mayo Clinic, garlic advisory
38. Abstract
39. Garty, B.-Z. (1993) Garlic burns. Pediatrics, 91: 658–659.

Bibliography

★ On Food and Cooking (Revised Edition), McGee, Harold, , , Scribner, 2004, ISBN 0-684-80001-2 pp 310–313: The Onion Family: Onions, Garlic, Leeks.

★ Handbook of Vegetable Science and Technology, Salunkhe, D.K.; Kadam, S.S., , , Marcel Dekker, 1998, ISBN 0-8247-0105-4

★ Garlic. The Science and Therapeutic Application of Allium sativum L. and Related Species (Second Edition), Koch, H. P.; Lawson, L. D., , , Williams & Wilkens, 1996, ISBN 0-683-18147-5

★ James Mellgren (2003).

★ Hamilton, Andy (2004). Selfsufficientish - Garlic. Retrieved 1 May 2005.

★ R. Kamenetsky, I. L. Shafir, H. Zemah, A. Barzilay, and H. D. Rabinowitch (2004). Environmental Control of Garlic Growth and Florogenesis. ''J. Am. Soc. Hort. Sci.'' 129: 144–151.

★ The pungency of garlic: Activation of TRPA1 and TRPV1 in response to allicin, Lindsey J. Macpherson, Bernhard H. Geierstanger, Veena Viswanath, Michael Bandell, Samer R. Eid, SunWook Hwang, and Ardem Patapoutian, , , Current Biology, 2005

★ Balch, P. A. (2000). ''Prescription for Nutritional Healing'', 3rd ed. New York: Avery.

★ Block, E. (1985). The chemistry of garlic and onions. ''Scientific American'' 252 (March): 114–119.

★ Block, E. (1992). The organosulfur chemistry of the genus Allium — implications for organic sulfur chemistry. ''Angewandte Chemie International Edition'' 104: 1158–1203.

★ Breithaupt-Grogler, K., et al. (1997). Protective effect of chronic garlic intake on elastic properties of aorta in the elderly. ''Circulation'' 96: 2649–2655. Abstract.

★ Efendy, J. L., et al. (1997). The effect of the aged garlic extract, 'Kyolic', on the development of experimental atherosclerosis. ''Arterosclerosis'' 132: 37–42. Abstract.

★ Gardner, C. D.; Lawson, L. D.; Block, E.; Chatterjee, L. M.; Kiazand, A.; Balise, R. R.; Kraemer, H. C. (2007) The effect of raw garlic vs. garlic supplements on plasma lipids concentrations in adults with moderate hypercholesterolemia: A clinical trial. "Archives of Internal Medicine" 167: 346–353.

★ Garty, B.-Z. (1993) Garlic burns. "Pediatrics" 91: 658–659.

★ Hile, A. G.; Shan, Z.; Zhang, S.-Z.; Block, E. (2004). Aversion of European starlings (Sturnus vulgaris) to garlic oil treated granules: garlic oil as an avian repellent. Garlic oil analysis by nuclear magnetic resonance spectroscopy. ''Journal of Agricultural and Food Chemistry'' 52: 2192–2196. [5]

★ Jain, A. K. (1993). Can garlic reduce levels of serum lipids? A controlled clinical study. ''American Journal of Medicine'' 94: 632–635. Abstract.

★ Lawson, L. D.; Wang, Z. J. (2001). Low allicin release from garlic supplements: a major problem due to sensitivities of alliinase activity.''Journal of Agricultural and Food Chemistry'' 49: 2592–2599. [6]

★ Mader, F. H. (1990). Treatment of hyperlipidemia with garlic-powder tablets. ''Arzneimittel-Forschung/Drug Research'' 40 (2): 3–8. Abstract.

★ Silagy, C., and Neil, A. (1994). Garlic as a lipid-lowering agent - a meta-analysis. ''Journal of the Royal College of Physicians'' 28 (1): 2–8. Abstract

★ Steiner, M., and Lin, R.S. (1998). Changes in platelet function and susceptibility of lipoproteins to oxidation associated with administration of aged garlic extract. ''Journal of Cardiovascular Pharmacology'' 31: 904–908. Abstract

★ Yeh, Y-Y., et al. (1999). Garlic extract reduces plasma concentration of homocysteine in rats rendered folic acid deficient. ''FASEB Journal'' 13(4): Abstract 209.12.

★ Yeh, Y-Y., et al. (1997). Garlic reduced plasma cholesterol in hypercholesterolemic men maintaining habitual diets. In: Ohigashi, H., et al. (eds). ''Food Factors for Cancer Prevention''. Tokyo: Springer-Verlag. Abstract. This is a meta-reference and includes 205 scientific and non-scientific papers from the United States National Library of Medicine [7].

External links

★ PROTAbase on ''Allium sativum''

★ Garlic: Plants For a Future database

★ Nutrition facts