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Antithrombotic and anticancer effects of garlic‐derived sulfur compounds: A review
Author(s) -
Ariga Toyohiko,
Seki Taiichiro
Publication year - 2006
Publication title -
biofactors
Language(s) - English
Resource type - Journals
SCImago Journal Rank - 1.204
H-Index - 94
eISSN - 1872-8081
pISSN - 0951-6433
DOI - 10.1002/biof.5520260201
Subject(s) - allium sativum , allicin , antithrombotic , organosulfur compounds , diallyl trisulfide , diallyl disulfide , sulfur , chemistry , organic chemistry , traditional medicine , biochemistry , botany , medicine , biology , apoptosis , cardiology
Garlic ( Allium sativum L.) has a long history as being a food having a unique taste and odor along with some medicinal qualities. Modern scientific research has revealed that the wide variety of dietary and medicinal functions of garlic can be attributed to the sulfur compounds present in or generated from garlic. Although garlic produces more than 20 kinds of sulfide compounds from a few sulfur‐containing amino acids, their functions are different from one another; e.g., allicin, methyl allyl trisulfide, and diallyl trisulfide have antibacterial, antithrombotic, and anticancer activities, respectively. The present paper reviews the physiological functions of garlic in the limited study fields of its antithrombotic and anticancer effects. Before describing these effects, however, we will discuss briefly some characteristics of garlic as a plant and some modes of absorption of orally‐administered sulfur compounds from garlic.