Pharmacognosy Garlic Miscellaneous crude drug Garlic Medicinal drug Garlic Benefits of Garlic

GARLIC Synonyms: Allium; Lasan (Hindi). Biological Source: Garlic is the ripe bulb of Allium sativum Linn., belonging to family Liliaceae. Geographical Source Garlic occurs in central Asia, southern Europe, and United States. It is widely cultivated in India. Characteristics It is a perennial herb having bulbs with several cloves, enclosed in a silky white or pink membraneous envelope. Chemical Constituents Allicin, a yellow liquid responsible for the odour of garlic, is the active principle of the drug. It is miscible with alcohol, ether, and benzene and decomposes on distilling. The other constituents reported in Garlic are alliin, volatile and fatty oils, mucilage and albumin. Alliin, another active principle, is odourless, crystallized from water acetone and practically insoluble in absolute alcohol, chloroform, acetone, ether, and benzene. Upon cleavage by the specific enzyme alliinase, an odour of garlic develops, and the fission products show antibacterial action similar to allicin. Essential oil (0.06–0.1%) contains allyl propyl disulphide, diallyl disulphide, and allicin. γ-Glutamyl peptides are isolated from the Garlic. Uses Garlic is carminative, aphrodisiac, expectorant, stimulant, and used in fevers, coughs, febrifuge in intermittent fevers, respiratory diseases such as chronic bronchitis, bronchial asthma, whooping cough, and tuberculosis. It is also used in atherosclerosis and hypertension. In Germany, garlic is consumed as a complement in the diet of hyperlipidemic patients and for the prophylaxis of the vascular changes induced by ageing. The garlic can cause gastrointestinal distress and alters breath and skin odour. Garlic or its constituents exhibit various biological activities, such as antibacterial, antifungal, antiviral, antitumor, and antidiabetic effects. Marketed Products It is one of the ingredients of the preparations known as Lasuna (Himalaya Drug Company) and Lashunadi bati (Baidyanath). https://youtube.com/channel/UCrxXzFat. Thank you for watching