Garlic

详情

Garlic (Allium sativa ), is a plant with long, flat grasslike leaves and a papery hood around the flowers. The greenish white or pink flowers are found grouped together at the end of a long stalk. The stalk rises directly from the flower bulb, which is the part of the plant used as food and medicine. The bulb is made up of many smaller bulbs covered with a papery skin known as cloves. Although garlic is known as the "stinking rose" it is actually a member of the lily family.



The most active components of fresh garlic are an amino acid called alliin and an enzyme called allinase. When a clove of garlic is chewed, chopped, bruised, or cut, these compounds mix to form allicin, which is responsible for garlic's strong smell. Allicin, in turn, breaks down into other sulfur compounds within a few hours. These compounds have a variety of overlapping healing properties.



Garlic also contains a wide range of trace minerals. These include copper, iron, zinc, magnesium , germanium, and selenium . ​The ancient Indians, Chinese, Egyptians, Greeks, Romans, and other peoples have used garlic for thousands of years, as food and as medicine. One of the most famed usages of garlic was during the Middle Ages, when it was reputed to have been highly effective against the plague.

Garlic can be used in the treatment of a variety of bacterial, viral, and fungal infections . It has been shown to be effective against staph, strep, E. coli, Salmonella, Vibrio cholera, H. pylori, Candida albicans, and other microorganisms. Garlic also helps prevent against heart disease and strokes. Current studies show that garlic can improve immune function and may even help in the prevention of cancer .