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Review
. 2024 Jun 10:15:1277074.
doi: 10.3389/fimmu.2024.1277074. eCollection 2024.

Garlic bioactive substances and their therapeutic applications for improving human health: a comprehensive review

Mohamed T El-Saadony  1 , Ahmed M Saad  2 , Sameh A Korma  3   4 , Heba M Salem  5 , Taia A Abd El-Mageed  6 , Samar Sami Alkafaas  7 , Mohamed I Elsalahaty  8 , Sara Samy Elkafas  9   10 , Walid F A Mosa  11 , Ahmed Ezzat Ahmed  12 , Betty T Mathew  13 , Noor A Albastaki  14 , Aysha A Alkuwaiti  13 , Marawan K El-Tarabily  15 , Synan F AbuQamar  13 , Khaled A El-Tarabily  13   16 , Salam A Ibrahim  17
Affiliations
Review

Garlic bioactive substances and their therapeutic applications for improving human health: a comprehensive review

Mohamed T El-Saadony et al. Front Immunol. .

Abstract

Garlic (Allium sativum L.) is a widely abundant spice, known for its aroma and pungent flavor. It contains several bioactive compounds and offers a wide range of health benefits to humans, including those pertaining to nutrition, physiology, and medicine. Therefore, garlic is considered as one of the most effective disease-preventive diets. Many in vitro and in vivo studies have reported the sulfur-containing compounds, allicin and ajoene, for their effective anticancer, anti-diabetic, anti-inflammatory, antioxidant, antimicrobial, immune-boosting, and cardioprotective properties. As a rich natural source of bioactive compounds, including polysaccharides, saponins, tannins, linalool, geraniol, phellandrene, β-phellandrene, ajoene, alliin, S-allyl-mercapto cysteine, and β-phellandrene, garlic has many therapeutic applications and may play a role in drug development against various human diseases. In the current review, garlic and its major bioactive components along with their biological function and mechanisms of action for their role in disease prevention and therapy are discussed.

Keywords: Allium sativum; bioactive compounds; functional foods; human diseases; human health; mechanisms of action; toxicity.

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Conflict of interest statement

The authors declare that the research was conducted in the absence of any commercial or financial relationships that could be construed as a potential conflict of interest.

Figures

Figure 1
Figure 1
Major water and oil-soluble sulfur compounds found in garlic.
Figure 2
Figure 2
Biological activities of garlic.
Figure 3
Figure 3
Antiobesity, antidiabetic and anti-inflammatory effects of garlic.
Figure 4
Figure 4
The anticancer mechanisms of garlic-derived phytochemicals.
Figure 5
Figure 5
The neuroprotective properties of garlic. All lables (A–G) are the sequence of events/properties of garlic toward neuroprotection.
See this image and copyright information in PMC

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