Abstract

Garlic is widely consumed as both a food additive and medicine around the globe and has been for over 5,000 years. Immunomodulatory substances in garlic abound and include alicin, aliin, ajoene and organosulfides, many of which increase in potency as the cloves are aged. Garlic can be used in many forms, each of which takes on different properties depending on the relative phytochemicals within it. The purpose of this mini-review is therefore to first explore the uses of garlic itself, explaining the biochemistry of its individual constituents and then go on to evaluate the literature for appropriate pre-clinical animal and cellular models of efficacy as well as available human clinical trials. Finally, the review will explore possible solutions to standardization of the use of garlic as medicine as well as possible directions in which such research might be developed.

Keywords: Alicin, antimicrobial, cancer treatment, immunomodulatory, organosulfides.

Graphical Abstract