Combined pollution of selenium (Se) and mercury (Hg) has been known in Wanshan district (Guizhou Province, China). A better understanding of how Se and Hg interact in plants and the phytotoxicity thereof will provide clues about how to avoid or mitigate adverse effects of Se/Hg on local agriculture. In this study, the biological activity of Se has been investigated in garlic with or without Hg ...

The present study was designed to investigate the protective efficiency of three garlic powders, obtained from bulbs grown in soils with different levels of sulfur fertilization, against DNA damage. Increasing fertilization of soil resulted in an increased alliin content of the powders. Garlic powders were administered to rats for 2 weeks (5% of the diet) and their antigenotoxic effects were ex...

Studies on the effects of garlic (Allium sativum) on hyperlipidemia have demonstrated somewhat controversial results and there have been few studies on its enzymatic mechanism. The purpose of this study was to assess the effect of garlic on the liver phosphatidate phosphohydrolase (PAP) activity, plasma lipid levels, malondialdehyde (MDA) and plasma antioxidant in rats fed either by normal or h...

The metabolism and excretion of flavor constituents of garlic, a common plant used in flavoring foods and attributed with several health benefits, in humans is not fully understood. Likewise, the physiologically active principles of garlic have not been fully clarified to date. It is possible that not only the parent compounds present in garlic but also its metabolites are responsible for the s...

Garlic supplements may have an important role to play in the treatment of hypercholesterolaemia. To determine the effect of garlic on serum lipids and lipoproteins relative to placebo and other lipid lowering agents, a systematic review, including meta-analysis, was undertaken of published and unpublished randomised controlled trials of garlic preparations of at least four weeks' duration. Stud...

The main objective of this study is to compare the productive performance and genetic relationships among three garlic genotypes which are common in Egyptian market. Cultivars with fewer cloves gave higher yields. Eggaseed-1 cv. and Sids-40 cv. produced between 9.7-11.9 ton/fed (fresh yield) and Egyptian cv. gave between 8.8-9.1 ton/fed (fresh yield) in both seasons of experiment. Simple sequen...

BACKGROUND Epidemiological studies have suggested that garlic may have protective effects against cardiovascular diseases. We undertook this cross-sectional observational study to test the hypothesis that regular garlic intake would delay the stiffening of the aorta relating to aging. METHODS AND RESULTS We studied healthy adults (n=101; age, 50 to 80 years) who were taking > or = 300 mg/d of...

Several reports suggest garlic supplements may inhibit the metabolism of cytochrome P450 (CYP) 2C9 and CYP3A4 substrates, such as warfarin and saquinavir. To characterize the effects of garlic extract on CYP2C9 and CYP3A4 enzyme activity immortalized human hepatocytes (Fa2N-4 cells) were exposed to garlic extract (0-200 μg/mL). CYP2C9 and CYP3A4 enzyme activities were evaluated in parallel with...

Recent studies have cast doubt on the proposed lipid-lowering and blood pressure-lowering effects of garlic. We tested the effect of dried garlic (Allium sativum) powder on blood lipids, blood pressure and arterial stiffness in a 12-week randomised, double-blind, placebo-controlled trial. Seventy-five healthy, normo-lipidaemic volunteers (men and women aged 40-60 years) were assigned to dried g...

This study was conducted to investigate the effects of garlic powder on the performance, egg traits, egg cholesterol and serum parameters of laying Japanese quails. One hundred and twenty 10-weeks-old quails were allocated to four dietary treatments. Quails were caged individually and fed diets supplemented with 0 (control), 1, 2, 4% garlic powder for 12 weeks. There were significant (P < 0.05)...