![[Feedback]](/icons/banner/feedbackACT.gif){kind=icon}
![[For Subscribers]](/icons/banner/subscriberACT.gif){kind=icon}
![[Archive]](/icons/banner/archiveACT.gif){kind=icon}
![[Search]](/icons/banner/searchACT.gif){kind=icon}
![[Contents]](/icons/banner/tocACT.gif){kind=icon}
|
|
|
|
|
||
Department of Medicine, Memorial Sloan-Kettering Cancer Center and Weill Medical College of Cornell University, New York Presbyterian Hospital, New York, NY 10021
ABSTRACT
The objective of this review is to examine briefly the medical uses of garlic throughout the ages and the role that it was considered to play in prevention and treatment of disease. Interest in the potential benefits of garlic has origins in antiquity and is one of the earliest documented examples of plants employed for treatment of disease and maintenance of health. Garlic was in use at the beginning of recorded history and was found in Egyptian pyramids and ancient Greek temples. There are Biblical references to garlic. Ancient medical texts from Egypt, Greece, Rome, China and India each prescribed medical applications for garlic. In many cultures, garlic was administered to provide strength and increase work capacity for laborers. Hippocrates, the revered physician, prescribed garlic for a variety of conditions. Garlic was given to the original Olympic athletes in Greece, as perhaps one of the earliest "performance enhancing" agents. It is of interest that cultures that developed without contact with one another came to similar conclusions about the efficacy of garlic. Modern science is tending to confirm many of the beliefs of ancient cultures regarding garlic, defining mechanisms of action and exploring garlic’s potential for disease prevention and treatment.
KEY WORDS: • garlic • allium • Codex Ebers • Hippocrates • Charaka-Samhita • Historica Naturalis • Home Book of Health
This article has been cited by other articles:
|
|
 |
|
  Y. J. Kim, S. K. Jin, and H. S. Yang Effect of dietary garlic bulb and husk on the physicochemical properties of chicken meat Poult. Sci., February 1, 2009; 88(2): 398 - 405. [Abstract] [Full Text] [PDF]
|
|
|
|
 |
|
 R. S Rivlin Can garlic reduce risk of cancer? Am. J. Clinical Nutrition, January 1, 2009; 89(1): 17 - 18. [Full Text] [PDF]
|
|
|
|
 |
|
 Y.-P. Lei, H.-W. Chen, L.-Y. Sheen, and C.-K. Lii Diallyl Disulfide and Diallyl Trisulfide Suppress Oxidized LDL-Induced Vascular Cell Adhesion Molecule and E-Selectin Expression through Protein Kinase A- and B-Dependent Signaling Pathways J. Nutr., June 1, 2008; 138(6): 996 - 1003. [Abstract] [Full Text] [PDF]
|
|
|
|
 |
|
 N. Li, R. Guo, W. Li, J. Shao, S. Li, K. Zhao, X. Chen, N. Xu, S. Liu, and Y. Lu A proteomic investigation into a human gastric cancer cell line BGC823 treated with diallyl trisulfide Carcinogenesis, June 1, 2006; 27(6): 1222 - 1231. [Abstract] [Full Text] [PDF]
|
|
|
|
|
|
R. S. Rivlin Is Garlic Alternative Medicine? J. Nutr., March 1, 2006; 136(3): 713S - 715S. [Abstract] [Full Text] [PDF]
|
|
|
|
|
|
H. Amagase Clarifying the Real Bioactive Constituents of Garlic J. Nutr., March 1, 2006; 136(3): 716S - 725S. [Abstract] [Full Text] [PDF]
|
|
|
|
|
|
H. Macan, R. Uykimpang, M. Alconcel, J. Takasu, R. Razon, H. Amagase, and Y. Niihara Aged Garlic Extract May Be Safe for Patients on Warfarin Therapy J. Nutr., March 1, 2006; 136(3): 793S - 795S. [Abstract] [Full Text] [PDF]
|
|
|
|
|
|
M. Thomas, P. Zhang, M.-L. Noordine, P. Vaugelade, C. Chaumontet, and P.-H. Duee Diallyl Disulfide Increases Rat H-Ferritin, L-Ferritin and Transferrin Receptor Genes In Vitro in Hepatic Cells and In Vivo in Liver J. Nutr., December 1, 2002; 132(12): 3638 - 3641. [Abstract] [Full Text] [PDF]
|
|
