We assessed whether allicin, through its antihypertensive and antioxidant effects, relieves vascular remodeling, endothelial function, and oxidative stress (OS), thereby improving experimental pulmonary arterial hypertension (PAH). Allicin (16 mg/kg) was administered to rats with PAH (monocrotaline 60 mg/kg). Allicin encouraged body weight gain and survival rate, and medial wall thickness and the right ventricle (RV) hypertrophy were prevented. Also, angiotensin II concentrations in the lung (0.37 ± 0.01 vs. 0.47 ± 0.06 pmoles/mL, allicin and control, respectively) and plasma (0.57 ± 0.05 vs. 0.75 ± 0.064, allicin and control respectively) and the expressions of angiotensin-converting enzyme II and angiotensin II type 1 receptor in lung tissue were maintained at normal control levels with allicin. In PAH rats treated with allicin, nitric oxide (NO) (31.72 ± 1.22 and 51.4 ± 3.45 pmoles/mL), tetrahydrobiopterin (8.43 ± 0.33 and 10.14 ± 0.70 pmoles/mL), cyclic guanosine monophosphate (5.54 ± 0.42 and 5.64 ± 0.73 pmoles/mL), and Ang-(1-7) (0.88 ± 0.23 and 0.83 ± 0.056 pmoles/mL) concentrations increased in lung tissue and plasma, respectively. In contrast, dihydrobiopterin increase was prevented in both lung tissue and plasma (5.75 ± 0.3 and 5.64 ± 0.73 pmoles/mL); meanwhile, phosphodiesterase-5 was maintained at normal levels in lung tissue. OS in PAH was prevented with allicin through the increased expression of Nrf2 in the lung. Allicin prevented the lung response to hypoxia, preventing the overexpression of HIF-1α and VEGF. Allicin attenuated the vascular remodeling and RV hypertrophy in PAH through its effects on NO-dependent vasodilation, modulation of RAS, and amelioration of OS. Also, these effects could be associated with the modulation of HIF-1α and improved lung oxygenation. The global effects of allicin contribute to preventing endothelial dysfunction, remodeling of the pulmonary arteries, and RV hypertrophy, preventing heart failure, thus favoring survival. Although human studies are needed, the data suggest that, alone or in combination therapy, allicin may be an alternative in treating PAH if we consider that, similarly to current treatments, it improves lung vasodilation and increase survival. Allicin may be considered an option when there is a lack of efficacy, and where drug intolerance is observed, to enhance the efficacy of drugs, or when more than one pathogenic mechanism must be addressed.

Effects of vacuum freeze drying (VFD), air impingement drying (AID), hot air drying based on temperature and humidity control (TH-HAD), pulsed vacuum drying (PVD), and medium- and short-wave infrared radiation drying (MSIRD) on the drying characteristics and physicochemical properties of garlic slices were investigated in the current work. Based on the experimental results, the Weibull model fitted the experimental results better (R2 > 0.99) than the Wang and Singh model. Samples dried with PVD showed the smallest color difference (ΔE*), better rehydration capacity and desirable reducing sugar content. In response to thermal effects and pressure pulsations, the cell walls gradually degraded, and the cell and organelle membranes ruptured. The allicin and soluble pectin contents of garlic slices treated with PVD were higher by 8.0-252.3% and 49.5-92.2%, respectively, compared to those of the samples dried by other techniques. VFD maintained a complete garlic slice structure with the minimum shrinkage and the best appearance. The MSIRD process produced the densest structure, and caused an additional loss of color and phytochemical contents. The findings in current work implied that PVD could be a promising drying technique for garlic slices.

Myocardial ischemia-reperfusion (IR) injury is a damage due to an initial reduction in blood flow to the heart, preventing it from receiving enough oxygen, and subsequent restoration of blood flow through the opening of an occluded coronary artery producing paradoxical harmful effects. The finding of new therapies to prevent IR is of utmost importance. Allicin is a compound isolated from garlic having the ability to prevent and cure different diseases, and a protective effect on the myocardium was also demonstrated. Therefore, the aim of this study was to evaluate the in vitro protective effect of Allicin against myocardial IR injury on cardiomyocytes.
We established an in vitro hypoxia-reoxygenation (HR) model of primary porcine cardiomyocytes to simulate myocardial IR injury. Primary porcine cardiomyocytes were extracted from Mini-musk swines (1 day old). After a period of adaptation of at least 2-3 days, cardiomyocytes in good condition were selected and randomly divided into control group (normal oxygen for 5 h), HR group (2 h of hypoxia/3 h of reoxygenation), and HR + Allicin group (hypoxia/reoxygenation + Allicin treatment).
After the induction of hypoxia/reoxygenation, Allicin treatment enhanced the cell viability. Moreover, Allicin treatment resulted in a reduction of apoptosis from 13.5 ± 1.2% to 6.11 ± 0.15% compared with the HR group (p < 0.05), and the apoptosis related proteins were regulated as well, with a decreased expression of Bax, cleaved caspase-3 and cytosolic cytochrome C and an increase in Bcl-2 expression in the HR + Allicin group (all p < 0.01). Pro-inflammatory cytokines, such as interleukin-6 and tumor necrosis factor alpha were down-regulated by the treatment with Allicin (both p < 0.01). In addition, it significantly decreased intracellular reactive oxygen species generation (p < 0.01) and reduced the loss of mitochondrial membrane potential (p < 0.01). Furthermore, the expression of PPARγ coactivator-1α and endothelial nitric oxide synthase was up-regulated (both p < 0.01), while the expression of Endothelin-1, hypoxia inducing factor-1α and transforming growth factor beta was down-regulated (all p < 0.01) by Allicin treatment.
These results suggested that Allicin protected the cardiomyocytes against HR damage by reducing apoptosis, inflammation and mitochondrial injury, thus providing a basis for its potential use in the treatment of myocardial IR.

Allium sativum L. (garlic bulbs) and Allium fistulosum L. (Welsh onion leaves) showed quantitative differences of identified compounds: allicin and alliin (380 µg/mL and 1410 µg/mL in garlic; 20 µg/mL and 145 µg/mL in Welsh onion), and the phenolic compounds (chlorogenic acid, p-coumaric acid, ferulic acid, gentisic acid, 4-hydroxybenzoic acid, kaempferol, isoquercitrin, quercitrin, quercetin, and rutin). The chemical composition determined the inhibitory activity of Allium extracts in a dose-dependent manner, on human normal cells (BJ-IC50 0.8841% garlic/0.2433% Welsh onion and HaCaT-IC50 1.086% garlic/0.6197% Welsh onion) and tumor cells (DLD-1-IC50 5.482%/2.124%; MDA-MB-231-IC50 6.375%/2.464%; MCF-7-IC50 6.131%/3.353%; and SK-MES-1-IC50 4.651%/5.819%). At high concentrations, the cytotoxic activity of each extract, on normal cells, was confirmed by: the 50% of the growth inhibition concentration (IC50) value, the cell death induced by necrosis, and biochemical determination of LDH, catalase, and Caspase-3. The four tumor cell lines treated with high concentrations (10%, 5%, 2.5%, and 1.25%) of garlic extract showed different sensibility, appreciated on the base of IC50 value for the most sensitive cell line (SK-MES-1), and the less sensitive (MDA-MB-231) cell line. The high concentrations of Welsh onion extract (5%, 2.5%, and 1.25%) induced pH changes in the culture medium and SK-MES-1 being the less sensitive cell line.

Multiple drug resistance of a growing number of bacterial pathogens represents an increasing challenge in conventional curative treatments of infectious diseases. However, the development and testing of new antibiotics is associated with a high number of animal experiments.
A symmetrical parametrized lung test rig allowing the exposure of air-passage surfaces to antibiotics was designed and tested to demonstrate proof-of-principle with aerosols containing allicin, which is an antimicrobial natural product from garlic. An artificial lung surface is coated with bacteria embedded in a hydrogel and growth inhibition is visualized by 3-(4,5-dimethylthiazol-2-yl)-2,5-diphenyltetrazolium bromide, that is reduced from colourless to the dark blue formazan in the presence of metabolically active, living cells. A nebulizer is used to generate the aerosols.
The results show that allicin has an antibiotic effect as an aerosol and that the deposition pattern of the active agent occurred mainly around the carinal regions.
The model represents an integral system for continuous, spatial detection of aerosol deposition and allows the analysis of bacterial behaviour and the toxicity of the active agent. Thus, the deposition of antimicrobial aerosols on the bronchial surfaces is characterized in preliminary tests without any animal experiments.

Behçet\'s disease (BD) involves oxidative stress (OS) aggression and imbalanced oxidant/antioxidant status. Owing to its antioxidant property, allicin is proposed for treating BD. In this study, we aimed to investigate the efficacy and safety of allicin on patients with BD with mucocutaneous involvement. Twenty patients with active BD were treated with allicin for 12 weeks and followed up to 16 weeks. A clinical manifestations index and scoring system was the primary technique for efficacy evaluation at baseline and Week 4, 12, 16. The secondary efficacy variables were OS-related biomarkers determined at first and final visit. Side effects were assessed at each visit. By the end of study, 18 patients completed the trail. Allicin was effective in decreasing ulcer and cutaneous parameters (p < .05). Especially, the greatest reduction of mucocutaneous scores emerged from baseline after the first four-week treatment (p < .05). Meanwhile, allicin remarkably ameliorated OS-related parameters. Besides, some side effects were observed on allicin, these adverse reactions, however, disappeared upon cessation of drugs. In conclusion, allicin is a safe and effective treatment for BD, which may be associated with its inhibiting OS and regulating oxidant/antioxidant status balance.

BACKGROUND: The current article aims to explore the protective potentials of α-tocopherol alone and the combination of allicin and vitamin B-complex against lead-acetate neurotoxicity on the cerebellar cortex.
METHODS: Forty rats were divided into four groups (n = 10). Group 1 was the control group; Group 2 received 10 mg/kg body weight (BW) of lead acetate; Group 3 was exposed to 10 mg/kg BW of lead acetate plus a combination of allicin (100 mg/kg BW) and vitamin B-complex (40 mg/kg BW); Group 4 was administered lead acetate (10 mg/kg BW) and α-tocopherol (100 mg/kg BW). The animals received the treatment for 60 days by oral gavage. All the groups were studied ultrastructurally and immunohistochemically with glial fibrillary acidic protein (GFAP).
RESULTS: The affected groups revealed shrunken and degenerated Purkinje cells with irregular nuclei. The cytoplasm comprised several lysosomes, unhealthy mitochondria, and dilated Golgi saccules. The myelinated nerve fibres demonstrated breaking of the myelin sheaths, apparent vacuoles, and broad axonal spaces. Immunohistochemically, there was a tremendous surge in GFAP-positive astrocytes in the lead acetate-treated group. These histological and ultrastructural variations were ameliorated by the administration of a-tocopherol and the combination of allicin and vitamin B complex. Moreover, an apparent decrease in the number of GFAP-positive astrocytes was obvious in the protected groups.
CONCLUSIONS: Although both a-tocopherol and the combination of allicin and vitamin B-complex can be used as possible adjuvant therapies to ameliorate nervous system ailments attributable to lead acetate, α-tocopherol showed more protective potential.

The objective of this study was to investigate the efficacy and safety of allicin in the treatment of stage II oral submucous fibrosis (OSF) in a Chinese patient cohort. A randomized clinical trial was performed. Triamcinolone acetonide (TA) or allicin was injected intralesionally weekly for 16 weeks. Improvements in mouth opening, burning sensation, and oral health-related quality of life were evaluated. Forty-eight subjects completed the study without obvious adverse reactions. At 40 weeks, the net gain in mouth opening was 2.27 ± 0.84 mm in the TA group and 5.16 ± 1.04 mm in the allicin group. Burning sensation improved by 2.79 ± 0.87 in the TA group and by 4.33 ± 1.04 in the allicin group. The OHIP-14 score improved by 4.67 ± 2.94 in the TA group and by 12.58 ± 9.82 in the allicin group. Allicin intralesional injections improved mouth opening, burning sensation, and oral health-related quality of life in these stage II OSF patients. Allicin appears to be a potential adjunctive therapeutic drug.

BACKGROUND: Allicin is the main active constituent of Allium sativum L., which is characterized by broad antibacterial spectrum (MarkosN et al., 2008; Chen et al., 2008); it also has apparent inhibitory effects on a variety of tumors. The Objective of the paper is to study the inhibitory effect of allicin on human gastric cancer cell line SGC-7901.
METHODS: MTT assay and flow cytometry technique were applied to determine the inhibition rate of allicin on human gastric cancer cell line SGC-7901. The results shows that different concentrations of allicin apparently inhibited the gastric cancer SGC7901 cells, cell growth inhibition rates in the experimental groups showed an upward trend with increased allicin concentration, which were concentration-dependent.
RESULTS: Flow cytometry results found that the cell cycle was arrested in the G2/M phase. Allicin has an apparent inhibitory effect on proliferation of gastric cancer cells, and can induce their apoptosis.
CONCLUSIONS: Compared with other chemotherapeutic drugs, allicin\'s anti-tumor effect is better; and toxic and side effects are relatively small.