Potential health benefits of Allicin
Potential health benefits of Allicin
Several animal studies published between 1995 and 2005 indicate that allicin may: reduce atherosclerosis and fat deposition。 normalize the lipoprotein balance, decrease blood pressure, have anti-thrombotic and anti-inflammatory activities, and function as an antioxidant to some extent . Other studies have shown a strong oxidative effect in the gut that can damage intestinal cells. However a randomized clinical trial funded by the National Institutes of Health (NIH) in the United States and published in the Archives of Internal Medicine in 2007 found that the consumption of garlic in any form did not reduce blood cholesterol levels in patients with moderately high baseline cholesterol levels. The fresh garlic used in this study contained substantial levels of allicin so this study casts doubt on the ability of allicin when taken orally to reduce blood cholesterol levels in human subjects.
In 2009, Vaidya, Ingold, and Pratt have clarified exactly how allicin works to produce its medicinal effects, such as trapping damaging radicals. According to them, it is the sulfenic acid, which is produced by the decomposition of allicin, that extremely rapidly reacts with free radicals, and bind with them. "We suggest that the peroxyl-radical-trapping activity of garlic is primarily due to 2-propenesulfenic acid formed by the decomposition of allicin." In 2010, Block, Dane, Thomas and Cody used a mass spectrometer with a DART ion source to identify 2-propenesulfenic formed when garlic is cut or crushed and to demonstrate that this sulfenic acid has a lifetime of less than one second.
In 2009, Vaidya, Ingold, and Pratt have clarified exactly how allicin works to produce its medicinal effects, such as trapping damaging radicals. According to them, it is the sulfenic acid, which is produced by the decomposition of allicin, that extremely rapidly reacts with free radicals, and bind with them. "We suggest that the peroxyl-radical-trapping activity of garlic is primarily due to 2-propenesulfenic acid formed by the decomposition of allicin." In 2010, Block, Dane, Thomas and Cody used a mass spectrometer with a DART ion source to identify 2-propenesulfenic formed when garlic is cut or crushed and to demonstrate that this sulfenic acid has a lifetime of less than one second.