Garlic as an alternative medicine

Garlic

History

• Used since the beginning of recorded history- found to be recorded on Greek temples and Egyptian pyramids
• Bible, medical texts from Egypt, Greece, Rome, China, and India show medicinal uses for garlic
• Hippocrates prescribed garlic for many conditions
• One of the first performance enhancing agents used in the Olympics
• Codex Ebers, the medical text of authority at this time, contained various uses of garlic
• given to laboring class of Egypt to promote strength

Medicinal Uses

• atherosclerosis (possibly effective)
• cancer (possibly effective)
• gastrointestinal disease (animal data)
• hyperlipidemia (adult, possibly effective; pediatric, ineffective)
• hypertension (possibly effective)
• infection (possibly effective)

Garlic is high in gama-glutamyl cysteine which is converted to S-allyl cysteine (SAC) which is thought to contribute heavily to the health benefits of garlic.

Mechanism of Action

• Cholesterol lowering activity
• - inhibit HMG-CoA reductase (cholesterol synthesis)

• Blood pressure lowering activity
• gamma-glutamylcysteines are the compounds in garlic that may lower blood press

• Antiplatelet activity
• Ajoene, a constituent of garlic,  strongly inhibits the metabolism of arachidonic acid by both cyclooxygenase and lipoxygenase pathways.
  
  

Adverse Effects:

• Burning sensation in mouth or stomach, gas, nausea, vomiting, diarrhea, body odor, bad breath
• Do not take garlic if you:
• have a bleeding disorder
• have GI problems
• are pregnant
• are breastfeeding
• are less than 10 days away from having surgery

Comparison to conventional therapy

• Lisinopril decreases systolic BP about 18 mm Hg after 12 weeks whereas garlic decreased systolic blood pressure on average 10.2 mm Hg after 12 weeks
• Pravastatin lowers LDL by 22% while garlic lowers LDL by 11%

Efficacy vs. Safety

• A meta-analysis showed garlic is superior to placebo in reducing total cholesterol levels, but that this decrease is modest and debatable.
• Based on these conclusions it is likely that garlic is safe in normal dietary amounts but that its’ effectiveness in lowering BP is questionable, and its’ effectiveness in lowering cholesterol is modest at best.
• A study examining the effect of consuming a clove of fresh garlic on platelet aggregation production reported a marked 80% reduction in serum TXA2

• Garlic is used for hypercholesterolemia and was found to decrease cholesterol levels by 4-6%.
• Prevention requires long term supplementation, and may lead to problems such as garlic breath, allergic reactions, stomach disorders and diarrhea.
• In rats, it was shown that raw garlic juice (0.5ml) caused significant damage to the epithelial mucosa.
• There is no information on garlic overdose. No reports of serious toxicity or overdose related to garlic.
  
  
  

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