Garlic
Introduction
Garlic is found almost everywhere in the world (from Polynesia to Siberia) and has
been used in traditional medicine for over 4000 years to treat disorders of arthritis,
common cold, diabetes, malaria, and tuberculosis [1]. The microbiologist Louis Pas-
teur studied the bactericidal properties of garlic, and during the Second World War
garlic was called “Russian penicillin” because the Russian government turned to this
ancient treatment for its soldiers when supplies of antibiotics had been exhausted.
It has been shown experimentally that garlic possesses therapeutic and preven-
tive activities against bacterial infection, atherosclerosis, high total cholesterol, and
hypertension; it also protects against free radicals and also aids in prolongation of
blood coagulation time [1, 2]. It is ranked at the top as the strongest cancer preven-
tive vegetable on the “Designer Foods Project” [1].
80 4 Bioactive Phytocompounds and Products Traditionally Used in Japan
In Japan, garlic has traditionally been used as a folk medicine from ancient
times. Aomori prefecture is a region well known for the production of high-quality
garlic and its crop represents 60% of Japan’s output. We describe here the new
functions of garlic that were recently researched in our laboratory.
Introduction
Garlic is found almost everywhere in the world (from Polynesia to Siberia) and has
been used in traditional medicine for over 4000 years to treat disorders of arthritis,
common cold, diabetes, malaria, and tuberculosis [1]. The microbiologist Louis Pas-
teur studied the bactericidal properties of garlic, and during the Second World War
garlic was called “Russian penicillin” because the Russian government turned to this
ancient treatment for its soldiers when supplies of antibiotics had been exhausted.
It has been shown experimentally that garlic possesses therapeutic and preven-
tive activities against bacterial infection, atherosclerosis, high total cholesterol, and
hypertension; it also protects against free radicals and also aids in prolongation of
blood coagulation time [1, 2]. It is ranked at the top as the strongest cancer preven-
tive vegetable on the “Designer Foods Project” [1].
80 4 Bioactive Phytocompounds and Products Traditionally Used in Japan
In Japan, garlic has traditionally been used as a folk medicine from ancient
times. Aomori prefecture is a region well known for the production of high-quality
garlic and its crop represents 60% of Japan’s output. We describe here the new
functions of garlic that were recently researched in our laboratory.
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