Garlic (Allium Sativum)

By [http://ezinearticles.com/?expert=Watham_Zenith_Chanu]Watham Zenith Chanu and Vikram Chauhan

Garlic (Allium sativum)

English name: Garlic.

Hindi name: Lasan.

Sanskrit name: Lasuna, rasonam.

The first mention of garlic appears in a Sumerian recipe written in about 3000 BC. The Assyrians also used garlic as a food, brewed as a tea or mixed with wine for a variety of medicinal purpose and to strengthen the system and ward off diseases. In ancient India, there are records in the Sanskrit language documenting the use of garlic remedies about 5000 years ago and the Ebers papyrus written in 1550 BC appears to contain the first mention of garlic in Egyptian medicines. This codex gives 22 uses of garlic, including treatments for heart problems, tumours, headache, worms and bites. The Holy Bible also mentions garlic as a common food in Egypt.

Athletes in the early Olympic games used to eat garlic before competitions to gain strength and Greek soldiers ate it before battle. It was used as a battlefield medicines to prevent infection in wounds. Hippocrates himself recommended garlic for infections, cancer, leprosy and digestive problems. Galen, the greatest physician of Roman history, referred to garlic as theriaca rusticorum, 'peasant's heal all', a name which eventually reached England in the Middle Ages as 'poor man's theriacle', and it was known in Arabia as theriaka-al-fuqara (theriac of the poor).

It has been suggested that the wild ancestor of garlic was a flowering from producing seeds on aerial 'bulbils'. Under different soil and climate conditions, and different methods of cultivation in the ancient centers of civilization, other varieties arose.

Habitat:

A hardy perennial, native to central Asia and cultivated worldwide, garlic requires a fertile soil and a warm, sunny climate. The culture is annual or biannual. It grows by dividing the bulb and is harvested late the following summer.

Botanical description:

A perennial, erect, bulbous herb, 30-60 cm tall, strong smelling especially when crushed. The underground portions consists of a compound bulb giving rise above ground to a number of narrow, keeled, grass-like leaves. The leaf blade is linear, flat, solid, 10-2.5 cm wide, 30-60 cm long and has an acute apex. The leaf sheaths form a pseudo-stem. The inflorescence is umbellate; the scape coiled at first and subtended by a membranous, long-beaked spathe, splitting on one side and remaining attached to the umbel. Small bulbils are produced in the inflorescences. The flowers are variable in number and sometimes absent, seldom open and may wither in the bud. They occur on slender pedicles, consisting of a perianth of six stamens, about 4-6 mm long and pinkish. There are six stamens with the anthers exserted and a superior, three-locular ovary. Seeds are rarely produced.

Parts used:

Bulb.

Traditional and modern use:

Ayurveda uses garlic as a tonic, to built the health in general rather than treat a particular disease, although it recognizes garlic's effects on the digestive, respiratory, nervous, reproductive and circulatory systems. In Unani medicines garlic is used to treat dysentery, intestinal infections, colic in children, arthritis and food poisoning. In south-west America it is used as a cough remedy, and the Appalachians used garlic for treating pneumonia and chest colds. It is also recommended for earaches and deafness. In Thailand it is eaten to avoid diarrhea from parasites and a decoction of fresh bulb is taken orally as an anti-inflammatory. The crushed bulb is also used as a poultice on inflamed joints. In France it is used to treat allergies, arteriosclerosis, arthritis, asthma, urinary incontinence, hypertension and liver diseases. A hot water extract of fresh bulb has been taken in Yugoslavia for treating diabetes. In the West Indies extracts of the bulb are taken for hypertension and rubbed on the abdomen to facilitate parturition and in Africa it is used as an antibacterial for sore throats, infected wounds and boils. The essential oil is occasionally used as an antispasmodic, antimicrobial, diuretic, antiasthmatic and emmenagogue.

Safety profile:

The level of safety is reflected by its worldwide use as a food. Ingestion of fresh garlic bulbs, extracts or the oil may occasionally cause heartburn, nausea, vomiting and diarrhea.

Ayurvedic properties:

Rasa: tikta (bitter), kashaya (astringent).

Guna: Snigdha (unctuous), tikshna (sharp).

Veerya: Ushna (hot).

Vipaka: Katu (pungent).

Dosha: Pacifies vata and kapha.

This article is submitted by Dr. Vikram Chauhan - MD -Ayurveda, Consultant Ayurveda Physician for http://www.planetayurveda.com Dr. Chauhan provides free online consultations to his patients worldwide.

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