Pharmaceutical Importance of Allium sativum L.

Overview

The paper sums up new experimental knowledge concerning the individual groups of organicsulfurous substances of the garlic: sulfoxides, thiosulfinates, ajoens, vinyldithiines, alkyl and alkenesulfides and glutamylpeptides of sulfurous amino acids, their transformation reactions (based onthe temperature, pH, extraction medium, and time) and the final products of transformations(Scheme 1, 2). It deals with the activity of the enzyme alliinase necessary for the transformation ofsulfoxides present in the whole garlic, its isolation and stability as well as the stability of thedominant thiosulfinate allicin in various media and simulated body fluids. It refers to the studiesof the metabolism and transformations of the most important sulfurous components performed invitro on the hepatocytes and on the isolated rat liver, and those carried out in vivo on the rats andincluding the examination of the composition of the exhaled air. It follows from published papersthat all different degradation products of thiosulfinates, mainly the prevailing allicin, are carriersof various biological activities. The paper also lists the types of commercial preparations preparedfrom the garlic, their differences, and considerable variability of their contents of active principles.

Key words:
Allium sativum – thiosulfinates – allicin – ajoens – vinyldithiines