Black Garlic (Allium sativum) Extracts Enhance the Immune System

Black garlic (Allium sativum) was created from ordinary fresh garlic by processing (aging) it in a temperature (65-80°C)and humidity (70-80%)-controlled room for a month. The heat-extracts of black garlic were rich in S-allyl-L-cysteine (SAC) and enforced anti-tumor activity with a 50% cure rate of BALB/c mouse fibrosarcoma; however, its mechanism still remains unsolved until now. Experiments were carried out to clarify anti-tumor mechanisms using spleen cells culture system obtained from black garlic extracts-treated mice. The black garlic extracts enhanced the cellular immunity by raising the activity of NK (natural killer) cells which was thought to play a critical role in eradication of tumor cells in vivo. Further cytokines of NO (nitric oxide), IFN(interferon), IL-2 (interleukin-2), and TNF(tumor necrosis factor) were preferentially generated from the extracts-treated mouse spleen cells; however, the amount of IL-4 (interleukin-4), which is considered to be associated with the humoral immunity (antibody production such as IgG and IgE), decreased in the culture supernatants of spleen cells. _____________________________________________________________________________________________________________