Garlic (Allium sativum L.) is a widely consumed spice in the world. Garlic contains diverse bioactive compounds, such as allicin, alliin, diallyl sulfide, diallyl disulfide, diallyl trisulfide, ajoene, and S-allyl-cysteine. Substantial studies have shown that garlic and its bioactive constituents exhibit antioxidant, anti-inflammatory, antibacterial, antifungal, immunomodulatory, cardiovascular protective, anticancer, hepatoprotective, digestive system protective, anti-diabetic, anti-obesity, neuroprotective, and renal protective properties. In this review, the main bioactive compounds and important biological functions of garlic are summarized, highlighting and discussing the relevant mechanisms of actions. Overall, garlic is an excellent natural source of bioactive sulfur-containing compounds and has promising applications in the development of functional foods or nutraceuticals for the prevention and management of certain diseases.

Bioactive Compounds and Biological Functions of Garlic ( Allium sativum L.)

Hypercholesterolemia is associated with an increased risk of heart disease The effect of garlic on blood lipids has been studied in numerous trials and summarized in meta-analyses, with conflicting results This meta-analysis, the most comprehensive to date, includes 39 primary trials of the effect of garlic preparations on total cholesterol, low-density lipoprotein cholesterol, high-density lipoprotein cholesterol, and triglycerides The findings suggest garlic to be effective in reducing total serum cholesterol by 17 ± 6 mg/dL and low-density lipoprotein cholesterol by 9 ± 6 mg/dL in individuals with elevated total cholesterol levels (>200 mg/dL), provided garlic is used for longer than 2 months An 8% reduction in total serum cholesterol is of clinical relevance and is associated with a 38% reduction in risk of coronary events at 50 years of age High-density lipoprotein cholesterol levels improved only slightly, and triglycerides were not influenced significantly Garlic preparations were highly tolerable in all trials and were associated with minimal side effects They might be considered as an alternative option with a higher safety profile than conventional cholesterol-lowering medications in patients with slightly elevated cholesterol

/pdf/effect-of-garlic-on-serum-lipids-an-updated-meta-analysis-3qegawmtrx.pdf

Effect of garlic on serum lipids: an updated meta‐analysis

Vegetable foods: A cheap source of proteins and peptides with antihypertensive, antioxidant, and other less occurrence bioactivities

Bioactive Food Peptides in Health and Disease

The diversification of food crops can improve our diets and address the effects of climate change, and in this context the orphan crop Chinese yam shows significant potential as a functional food. As the effects of climate change become increasingly visible even in temperate regions, there is an urgent need to diversify our crops in order to address hunger and malnutrition. This has led to the re-evaluation of neglected species such as Chinese yam (Dioscorea polystachya Turcz.), which has been cultivated for centuries in East Asia as a food crop and as a widely-used ingredient in traditional Chinese medicine. The tubers are rich in nutrients, but also contain bioactive metabolites such as resistant starches, steroidal sapogenins (like diosgenin), the storage protein dioscorin, and mucilage polysaccharides. These health-promoting products can help to prevent cardiovascular disease, diabetes, and disorders of the gut microbiome.
Whereas most edible yams are tropical species, Chinese yam could be cultivated widely in Europe and other temperate regions to take advantage of its nutritional and bioactive properties. However, this is a laborious process and agronomic knowledge is fragmented. The underground tubers contain most of the starch, but are vulnerable to breaking and thus difficult to harvest. Breeding to improve tuber shape is complex given the dioecious nature of the species, the mostly vegetative reproduction via bulbils, and the presence of more than 100 chromosomes. Protocols have yet to be established for in vitro cultivation and genetic transformation, which limits the scope of research. This article summarizes the sparse research landscape and evaluates the nutritional and medical applications of Chinese yam. By highlighting the potential of Chinese yam tubers, we aim to encourage the adoption of this orphan crop as a novel functional food.

/pdf/an-underutilized-orphan-tuber-crop-chinese-yam-a-review-442k9o58ql.pdf

An underutilized orphan tuber crop—Chinese yam : a review

The aim of the present study was to investigate different yam treatments, including powdered-yam-products (PYP) and liquid-yam-products (LYP), with respect to spontaneously hypertensive rats (SHRs) blood pressure. PYP included alcohol-insoluble-solids of yam tuber, hot-air-drying (HAD) of yam tuber slices, steam-cooked once or twice followed by HAD which were subsequently powdered. LYP included water extracts of yam tuber (WEY) heated at 90 degrees C (WEY90H) or 95 degrees C for 10 min (WEY95H), and then stored at 4 degrees C for different numbers of day. PYP, WEY, and WEYH were found effectively to reduce the blood pressure of SHR and should be beneficial in food processing in the development of functional foods for blood pressure regulation.

Effects of different types of yam (Dioscorea alata) products on the blood pressure of spontaneously hypertensive rats.

This study evaluated the effects of processed garlic (PG) on the systolic blood pressure (SBP) and the diastolic blood pressure (DBP) of spontaneously hypertensive rats (SHR) and on the BP of hyperten- sive humans. The color of raw garlic changed to black through enzymatic browning over two-week processing periods, and the active compound S-allyl-ʟ-cysteine was analyzed and calculated as 75.3 mg/100 g in PG. PG was found to effectively reduce the blood pressure of SHR after 4, 6, and 8 weeks with a single daily dose of 30 and 50 mg/kg. We conducted a placebo-controlled trial to test the efficacy of PG on lowering SBP and DBP of 44 hypertensive subjects over a period of 8 weeks. PG significantly lowered SBP after only 2 weeks (p<0.01), while a significant reduction in DBP (p<0.05) took 8 weeks. This significant DBP reduction was also found in the placebo group (p <0.05), which might be attributed to a placebo effect. After 8 weeks, PG lowered SBP by 8.05 mmHg. In conclusion, taking two 500 mg capsules of PG for 8 weeks can significantly lower blood pressure in hypertensive subjects.

/pdf/antihypertensive-activities-of-processed-garlic-on-3wih6rlgkb.pdf

Antihypertensive activities of processed garlic on spontaneously hypertensive rats and hypertensive humans.

BACKGROUND: It was reported in a previous paper that the yam tuber storage protein dioscorin exhibited antihypertensive effects on spontaneously hypertensive rats. The aim of the present study was to evaluate and compare the effects of packets of instant food (30 g) with (treated meal) and without (placebo) lyophilised yam powder on hypertensive subjects.



RESULTS: A placebo-controlled feeding trial was conducted daily for 5 weeks (stage 1), followed by a 1 week washout and then a 5 week crossover (stage 2). Twenty-one subjects finished the trial. One packet of treated meal contained 140 ± 2.54 mg of dioscorin according to enzyme-linked immunosorbent assay. The blood pressure results of the treated meal and placebo groups at stage 1 end versus originals, but not at stage 2 end versus stage 2 beginning, were significantly different by the paired t test. Systolic (SBP) and diastolic (DBP) blood pressure readings after treated meal intervention, but not after placebo intervention, differed significantly from the original values based on one-way analysis of variance followed by the post hoc Tukey test; the reductions in SBP and DBP were 6.52 and 4.76 mmHg respectively. The feeding trial did not appear to affect serum lipid profiles or other biochemical measurements of cardiovascular risk.



CONCLUSION: Intake of an instant food containing 140 mg of dioscorin over 5 weeks had a regulating effect on human blood pressure. Copyright © 2008 Society of Chemical Industry

Feeding trial of instant food containing lyophilised yam powder in hypertensive subjects

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Effects of different types of yam (Dioscorea alata) products on the blood pressure of spontaneously hypertensive rats.

Antihypertensive activities of processed garlic on spontaneously hypertensive rats and hypertensive humans.

Feeding trial of instant food containing lyophilised yam powder in hypertensive subjects