For centuries, garlic has been believed in the field of alternative medicine that it could benefit human beings: from its anti-bacterial and antifungal properties, to its positive effects on the cardiovascular system.
Why garlic has such a valuable health benefits, you may ask? Recently, a group of US researchers figured out the reason behind this: it boosts human body's own production of a compound that relaxes blood vessels, increases blood flow, and prevents blood clots and oxidative damage. The results of the study were published in the Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences.
According to the new research, the key is the chemical messenger (hydrogen sulphide or H2S) that is produced when Allicin and similar biologically active components are metabolized. The messenger is essential at low levels for cellular signing, that appears to relax blood vessels, enhancing blood flow.
In laboratory, the researchers at the University of Alabama first extracted juice from supermarket garlic and added minute amounts of red blood cells. The cells immediately began emitting hydrogen sulphide.
Various experiments also showed that the key chemical reaction took place mainly at the membrane of the red blood cells, although a fraction of H2S was also produced inside the cells. The team also added a section of rat aorta (a heart blood vessel) to a solution containing organic polysulphides and found that the vessel began to relax as it produced H2S.
This perhaps may also explain why many studies showed garlic supplements could prevent the progress of cardiovascular disease, yet some showed that there was no benefit in taking such supplements.
Why garlic has such a valuable health benefits, you may ask? Recently, a group of US researchers figured out the reason behind this: it boosts human body's own production of a compound that relaxes blood vessels, increases blood flow, and prevents blood clots and oxidative damage. The results of the study were published in the Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences.
According to the new research, the key is the chemical messenger (hydrogen sulphide or H2S) that is produced when Allicin and similar biologically active components are metabolized. The messenger is essential at low levels for cellular signing, that appears to relax blood vessels, enhancing blood flow.
In laboratory, the researchers at the University of Alabama first extracted juice from supermarket garlic and added minute amounts of red blood cells. The cells immediately began emitting hydrogen sulphide.
Various experiments also showed that the key chemical reaction took place mainly at the membrane of the red blood cells, although a fraction of H2S was also produced inside the cells. The team also added a section of rat aorta (a heart blood vessel) to a solution containing organic polysulphides and found that the vessel began to relax as it produced H2S.
This perhaps may also explain why many studies showed garlic supplements could prevent the progress of cardiovascular disease, yet some showed that there was no benefit in taking such supplements.
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