Garlic (Allium sativum) - Uses, Benefits, Indications and Dosage

Overview

Botanical name: Allium sativum

Common name: Garlic

Garlic is a spice used by us in our daily preparation of food to add a bit of taste and flavor along with aroma. The bulbs of this familiar member of the lily family have been cultivated for thousands of years for use as a flavoring as well as a medicinal herb. The health benefits of garlic are varied and many. Nature has ingeniously packaged a chemical factory in garlic.

Various Ayurvedic practitioners and sages have considered garlic a good carminative for digestive problems. Excellent in the treatment of diarrhea, and a treatment for bacterial, fungal, and viral infections. In many cultures, garlic has been used to treat intestinal parasites. In the First World War, garlic was widely used as an antiseptic.

It is found to be having a great value in the prevention of arteriosclerosis, It has the ability to lower high serum cholesterol and triglyceride levels, has a hypotensive effect, helping to lower blood pressure, has an anti cancer effect and also helps to lower the blood sugar level to act as an moderate anti-diabetic agent.

Garlic has been shown to protect blood vessels from the deleterious effects of free radicals. This antioxidant activity has also been linked to its blood cholesterol-lowering action and its ability to decrease deposits of cholesterol on the walls of blood vessels. By lowering lipids in the blood (such as cholesterol and triglycerides) it benefits the heart. It also increases flow of blood to the capillaries, helping to reduce blood pressure. It is also found to be having the antimicrobial activity against the various gram positive and gram negative bacteria.

Garlic even benefits in the cardiovascular disorders and also acts as the anti coagulant agent or the blood thinner helping the patients suffering from peripheral arterial occlusive disease, characterized by blood clots in the legs.

Actions and Uses of Garlic

Internal:

It is Antibacterial, antifungal, anti-inflammatory, antimicrobial, anthelmintic, antiseptic, antiviral, hypotensive-vasodilator, cholagogue, antispasmodic, decreases the blood cholesterol levels, increases HDL, increases fibrinolytic activity, hypoglycemic, expectorant, diaphoretic, antioxidant, antitumour, antineoplastic, antimutagenic, diuretic and carminative.

External:

It is Antimicrobial, antifungal and expectorant.

Dosage:

Fresh: 2 to 5 cloves per day are equivalent approximately to 5000 mg fresh daily. Up to 30 g. per day may be taken in acute conditions.
Standardized: In general, 1000mg.

Therapy

Internally: Treatment and prophylaxis of infections especially respiratory infections as bronchitis, respiratory catarrhs, common cold, influenza; pneumonia and in hypertension, hypercholesterolemia, atherosclerotic changes, peripheral vascular disease, diabetes, candidiasis, gastro-intestinal infections as following dysentery, diphtheria, cholera, typhus, intestinal parasites including Ascaris and various other worm infestation or the helminthes.
Externally: In fungal infections, ear infections, vaginal candidiasis, respiratory infections.

Specific indications

In Moderate hypertension with moderate hyperlipidemia, and in the upper respiratory tract infections (URTI).

Activity of Garlic

Antimicrobial activity:

Garlic extracts are found to be exhibiting wide spectrum antimicrobial activity. They are active against several bacteria, as the Staphylococcus, Streptococcus, Brucella, Vibrio; viruses as Herpes simplex type 1 and type 2, Para influenza virus type 3, Fungi as the Candida albicans, Cryptococcus neoformans) and worm infestations as the Ascaris lumbricoides, and the various other hookworms).

Cardiovascular activity:

Garlic extracts have been found to be very beneficial in many types of the cardiovascular disorders and it is found to be having a very beneficial effect in the cases of hypertension and high lipid profile cases.

Anti-cancer activity:

Garlic extracts have a potential chemo protective and an anticancer effect. The effects are neither dependent on any single constituent nor limited to a single tissue or tumor type or specific carcinogen.

Anti-inflammatory activity and provides strength or boosts the Immune system:

Garlic has found to be having an anti-inflammatory action. Garlic extracts have also been found to be capable of immune modulation i.e. it helps to provide the strength to or it boosts the immune system.

Miscellaneous activities:

Garlic also possesses the diuretic, and expectorant actions, as well as carminative and anti-spasmodic actions on the digestive system. Garlic is also moderately hypoglycemic.

Hypertension and Garlic

Garlic has found to be having a hypotensive effects on individuals that complain about the or are the cases of hypertension. The hypotensive effects are found to be very multifactor, and include the ability of Garlic extracts to inhibit PAF.

Coagualability of Garlic

Garlic extracts inhibit platelet aggregation and platelet formation and increase fibrinolytic activity. Garlic reduces blood viscosity by several mechanisms.

Dosage

Internal:

Unless otherwise prescribed: 4 g per day of fresh, minced garlic bulb.
Infusion: 4 g in 150 ml of water.
Fluidextract 1:1 (g/ml): 4 ml.
Tincture 1:5 (g/ml): 20 ml.

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Garlic Capsules

Garlic Capsules contain extracts of Allium sativum bulb and possess excellent pharmacodynamic properties. These herbal capsules have a significant protective action against a fat induced increase in serum cholesterol and plasma fibrinogen. It is used as a carminative, aphrodisiac and expectorant.

Garlic supplements can be made from whole fresh garlic, dried garlic and aged garlic extracts. Pure and natural Garlic supplements are available in the form of Capsules and can be purchased at Planet Ayurveda. Garlic is rich in antioxidants which help destroy free radicals. It may contribute to the aging process as well as the development of various diseases, including heart disease and cancer.