Is Garlic a Wonder Plant?

Farouk El-Sabban*

Is Garlic a Wonder Plant?

Aspirin is easily synthesized and its price is very affordable worldwide. Ancient cultures relied on the use of traditional medicines for alleviating and treatment of many human ailments. Most of these folkloric remedies utilized different types of plants as a whole or some of their parts. With
advancements in analytical techniques, many compounds that are of bioactive properties.

Recent trend indicates that functional foods of health-protective and medicinal value have caught the attention of nutritionists, physicians and many health care professionals. One of the most recognized functional food items is garlic. From a nutritional standpoint, garlic contains some amounts of the 3 energy generating nutrients and significant amounts of others – such as: manganese, calcium, phosphorus, copper, sodium, selenium, the amino acid tryptophan, and vitamins B1, B6 and vitamin C.

Many studies involving the health effects of garlic involved mainly those that relate to cardiovascular diseases and their risk factors. Garlic has been shown to reduce the following blood parameters: systolic and diastolic blood pressure, low-density lipoprotein (LDL) cholesterol, triglycerides, plasma viscosity, and increase red blood cell velocity of the skin. It is
considered as an antiplatelet aggregation agent, thus possesses antithrombotic property. Some studies suggested that garlic can be a substitute antithrombotic agent for people who are allergic
to or do not tolerate aspirin.

Many researchers expressed the urge for clinical trials that involve long-term supplementation with garlic in relation to cancer of the stomach, colon and rectum in particular. In addition, pharmaceutical research can emphasize devising ointments and creams that have garlic as an
active ingredient for topical applications in skin diseases, and in others that can be beneficial in different medical conditions and symptoms.

Adv Food Technol Nutr Sci Open J. 2015; 1(3): e7-e8. doi: 10.17140/AFTNSOJ-1-e002

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