Letter from Wm. Garlic

Letter concerning winter courses at Utah Agricultural College

Garlic Consumption and All-Cause Mortality among Chinese Oldest-Old Individuals: A Population-Based Cohort Study.

In vitro and in vivo experimental studies have shown garlic has protective effects on the aging process; however, there is no evidence that garlic consumption is associated with all-cause mortality among oldest-old individuals (≥80 years). From 1998 to 2011, 27,437 oldest-old participants (mean age: 92.9 years) were recruited from 23 provinces in China. The frequencies of garlic consumption at baseline and at age 60 were collected. Cox proportional hazards models adjusted for potential covariates were constructed to estimate hazard ratios (HRs) relating garlic consumption to all-cause mortality. Among 92,505 person-years of follow-up from baseline to September 1, 2014, 22,321 participants died. Participants who often (≥5 times/week) or occasionally (1-4 times/week) consumed garlic survived longer than those who rarely (less than once/week) consumed it (p < 0.001). Participants who consumed garlic occasionally or often had a lower risk for mortality than those who rarely consumed garlic at baseline; the adjusted HRs for mortality were 0.92(0.89-0.94) and 0.89(0.85-0.92), respectively. The inverse associations between garlic consumption and all-cause mortality were robust in sensitivity analyses and subgroup analyses. In this study, habitual consumption of garlic was associated with a lower all-cause mortality risk; this advocates further investigation into garlic consumption for promoting longevity

Diversity of the arthropod fauna in organically grown garlic intercropped with fodder radish.

The cultivation of garlic faces several problems, which include pest attack, and the diversification of habitat through intercropping with attractive plants comes up as a method to pest management. The objective of this research was to verify the effect of the association of garlic with fodder radish on richness, abundance and diversity of arthropods under organic production system in Lavras, MG, Brazil. The treatments were composed of garlic in monoculture and garlic in association with fodder radish, in plots of 40 garlic plants, intercropped or not with two lines of fodder radish. Weekly, 25 samples were collected for a period of 10 weeks (n=250). Species accumulation curves, species richness, abundance, and diversity index were determined, and T or Mann-Whitney tests were used for analysis. The 250 samples collected were sufficient to register the majority of species present in garlic. Richness and abundance were higher in diversified garlic whereas diversity was higher in monoculture. Diversified system increased the overall richness of phytophagous species and parasitoids. The abundance of T. tabaci decreased, while increased the presence of A. fabae, demonstrating that the association was potentially beneficent to the culture. The possible reasons for these results are discussed, and future works should focus in the ecological mechanisms involved in crop diversification of organic garlic

Raw Garlic Consumption and Risk of Liver Cancer: A Population-Based Case-Control Study in Eastern China.

Although the major risk factors for liver cancer have been established, preventive factors for liver cancer have not been fully explored. We evaluated the association between raw garlic consumption and liver cancer in a large population-based case-control study in Eastern China. The study was conducted in Jiangsu, China, from 2003 to 2010. A total of 2011 incident liver cancer cases and 7933 randomly selected population-controls were interviewed. Epidemiological data including raw garlic intake and other exposures were collected, and serum markers of hepatitis B virus (HBV) and hepatitis C virus (HCV) infection were assayed. Overall, eating raw garlic twice or more per week was inversely associated with liver cancer, with an adjusted odds ratio (aOR) of 0.77 (95% confidence interval (CI): 0.62-0.96) compared to those ingesting no raw garlic or less than twice per week. In stratified analyses, high intake of raw garlic was inversely associated with liver cancer among Hepatitis B surface antigen (HBsAg) negative individuals, frequent alcohol drinkers, those having history of eating mold-contaminated food or drinking raw water, and those without family history of liver cancer. Marginal interactions on an additive scale were observed between low raw garlic intake and HBsAg positivity (attributable proportion due to interaction (AP) = 0.31, 95% CI: -0.01-0.62) and heavy alcohol drinking (AP = 0.28, 95% CI: 0.00-0.57). Raw garlic consumption is inversely associated with liver cancer. Such an association shed some light on the potential etiologic role of garlic intake on liver cancer, which in turn might provide a possible dietary intervention to reduce liver cancer in Chinese population

Introducing of green garlic plant as a new source of allicin

The presence of allicin in green garlic plant extracts was investigated. Allicin in aqueous extracts from green garlic leaf, shoot and young bulbs were determined by HPLC. Allicin was present at highest level in extracts from whole green garlic plant at 0.48 ± 0.01 mg/mL, followed by that in shoot and leaf extracts at 0.44 ± 0.00 and 0.26 ± 0.01 mg/mL, respectively. The results obtained in this study offer green garlic as a new source of allicin, as green garlic plant is used as a favourite vegetable in many countries.

Utilización de desechos de ajo y maíz suplementados con alpechín para el cultivo de Pleurotus

Garlic and maize cultivations in Argentina are located in similar areas where olive is produced, an advantage for eliminating wastes produced for oil extraction by mushroom cultivation. The aim of this study was to investigate the use of different percentages of olive mill waste water (OMWW) mixed with garlic and maize wastes for the production of Pleurotus ostreatus basidiomes. Strain BAFC 2067 of P. ostreatus was cultivated in garlic and maize wastes mixed with 15, 30, 45 and 60% of OMWW. Bags with 0% OMWW (control) and 100% OMWW were also inoculated. The time of colonization and the yields obtained permitted us to conclude that the best substrate utilized for basidiomes production was a mixture composed of OMWW and maize wastes. The negative effect in the growth of P. ostreatus on garlic wetted with tap water was reverted when garlic wastes contained 15 and 30 % of OMWW. A deleterious effect on yield was observed when 60 % OMWW was utilized for wetting garlic and maize wastes.Los cultivos de ajo y de maíz están ubicados en la Argentina en áreas similares destinadas a la producción de oliva, lo cual es una ventaja para la eliminación de desechos producidos por la extracción de aceites de oliva por medio de la producción de hongos. El objetivo de este trabajo fue investigar el uso de diferentes porcentajes de alpechín (OMWW) mezclados con desechos de ajo y maíz para la producción de basidiomas de Pleurotus ostreatus. La cepa BAFC 2067 de P. ostreatus fue cultivada en desechos de ajo y maíz mezclados con 15, 30, 45 y 60% de alpechín. Bolsas con 0% (control) y 100% de alpechín fueron también inoculados. El tiempo de colonización y las cosechas obtenidas permitieron concluir que el mejor sustrato utilizado para la producción de basidiomas fue la mezcla compuesta de alpechín y desechos de maíz. El efecto negativo para el crecimiento de Pleurotus ostreatus en ajo humedecido con agua destilada fue revertido cuando los desechos de ajo contenían 15 y 30 % de alpechín. Un efecto deletéreo sobre las cosechas fue observado cuando 60 % de alpechín fue utilizado para humedecer tanto el desecho de ajo como de maíz.Fil: Lechner, Bernardo Ernesto. Consejo Nacional de Investigaciones Científicas y Técnicas. Oficina de Coordinación Administrativa Ciudad Universitaria. Instituto de Micología y Botánica. Universidad de Buenos Aires. Facultad de Ciencias Exactas y Naturales. Instituto de Micología y Botánica; ArgentinaFil: Monaldi, Santiago. Universidad Nacional de La Plata. Facultad de Ciencias Agrarias y Forestales. Instituto Fitotécnico de "Santa Catalina"; Argentin

Nutrition Content and Antioxidant Activity of Black Garlic

Black garlic is a garlic that has been naturally processed at a certain temperature in a long time. Therefore, the new chemical content and formulations are produced. Black Garlic has stronger antibacterial properties, as well as antioxidants two times higher than regular garlic due to it consists of Sallycysteine. The longer black garlic fermentation of Sallycysteine content increases. The study was intended to identify the nutritional content and antioxidant activity found on black garlic based on fermentation time. The research type used was an analytical observation with complete randomized design included making, observing, and analyzing nutrient content (carbohydrate, protein, and fat) and antioxidant activity on black garlic based on fermentation length. The research sample was black garlic fermented at 700C. The experiment was carried out by different treatment of fermentation length was 30 days, 40 days, 60 days, and 90 days. The results showed that nutrient content and antioxidant activity of black garlic during the fermentation process tended to increase. The highest protein content was found on 60 fermented black garlic (7.52% bb). The highest fat content was found in 90 fermented black garlic (5.4% bb). The highest carbohydrate content was found on 90 fermented black garlic (45,476% bb)

Penawaran Bawang Putih Di Indonesia

This study aims to analyze the factors that affect the supply of garlic in Indonesia. The type of model used in the estimation process is Nerlove supply model. The results showed that all equations in the model are significant and qualified to statistical tests. The factors that significantly affect garlic harvested acreage this year among others garlic harvested area at one previous year, garlic harvested area at two previous years, rain fall, real price of urea at one previous year and real price of rice at previous year. Garlic productivity this year only significantly affected by garlic productivity at one previous year. While imported garlic is significantly affected by Indonesian garlic production, garlic import tariffs and real exchange rate. In the short term, the entire exogenous variables in the model are inelastic on its endogenous variables. But in the long term harvested area at one previous year and harvested area at two previous year are elastic on harvested area this year, while garlic productivity elastic on garlic productivity this year

Does the taste matter? Taste and medicinal perceptions associated with five selected herbal drugs among three ethnic groups in West Yorkshire, Northern England

In recent years, diverse scholars have addressed the issue of the chemosensory perceptions associated with traditional medicines, nevertheless there is still a distinct lack of studies grounded in the social sciences and conducted from a cross-cultural, comparative perspective. In this urban ethnobotanical field study, 254 informants belonging to the Gujarati, Kashmiri and English ethnic groups and living in Western Yorkshire in Northern England were interviewed about the relationship between taste and medicinal perceptions of five herbal drugs, which were selected during a preliminary study. The herbal drugs included cinnamon (the dried bark of Cinnamomum verum, Lauraceae), mint (the leaves of Mentha spp., Lamiaceae), garlic (the bulbs of Allium sativum, Alliaceae), ginger (the rhizome of Zingiber officinale, Zingiberaceae), and cloves (the dried flower buds of Syzygium aromaticum, Myrtaceae). The main cross-cultural differences in taste perceptions regarded the perception the perception of the spicy taste of ginger, garlic, and cinnamon, of the bitter taste of ginger, the sweet taste of mint, and of the sour taste of garlic. The part of the study of how the five selected herbal drugs are perceived medicinally showed that TK (Traditional Knowledge) is widespread among Kashmiris, but not so prevalent among the Gujarati and especially the English samples. Among Kashmiris, ginger was frequently considered to be helpful for healing infections and muscular-skeletal and digestive disorders, mint was chosen for healing digestive and respiratory troubles, garlic for blood system disorders, and cinnamon was perceived to be efficacious for infectious diseases. Among the Gujarati and Kashmiri groups there was evidence of a strong link between the bitter and spicy tastes of ginger, garlic, cloves, and cinnamon and their perceived medicinal properties, whereas there was a far less obvious link between the sweet taste of mint and cinnamon and their perceived medicinal properties, although the link did exist among some members of the Gujarati group. Data presented in this study show how that links between taste perceptions and medicinal uses of herbal drugs may be understood as bio-cultural phenomena rooted in human physiology, but also constructed through individual experiences and culture, and that these links can therefore be quite different across diverse cultures

Evidence based Scientific Narrative Review on the Anticoagulant Mechanisms of Allium sativum (Garlic)

Introduction: Garlic (Allium sativum, Family: Amaryllidaceae) is a seasoning plant cultivated all over the world. Garlic contains a lot of bioactive compounds including organosulfur compounds, saponins, phenolic compounds, and polysaccharides. Anticoagulant activity is one of the pharmacological properties of Garlic. The aim of this study was to review the mechanism of the anticoagulant activity of garlic and summarise the potential evidence about the anticoagulant activity of garlic from past studies. Method: Literature searches were conducted on PubMed and Google Scholar databases. 44 full articles were reviewed in detail in this study. The findings were reviewed and potential evidence for the anticoagulant mechanisms of garlic was summarised. Results: Organosulfur compounds in garlic play a major role in the anticoagulant property of garlic. Garlic exhibits anticoagulant activity mainly through three mechanisms. Those are inhibiting platelet aggregation, retarding thrombin formation, and promoting fibrinolysis. The anticoagulant activity of garlic is proven by several human, animal and in-vitro studies. Garlic significantly inhibits adenosine diphosphate and epinephrine induced platelet aggregation in healthy subjects. Garlic administration inhibit the thrombus formation in rats. Aqueous and methanolic extracts of garlic prolong prothrombin time. Extension in clotting time is reported with increasing concentrations of garlic extract. Conclusions: Garlic has been reported as a medicinal plant showing anticoagulant activity by resisting platelet aggregation, inhibiting thrombin formation and enhancing fibrinolysis and this study suggests that garlic reduces the risk of thrombosis therefore cardiovascular complications.   Keywords: Anticoagulant Activity, Garlic, Thrombosi