Effects on pathogenic microorganisms

Allicin has strong antibacterial and anti-inflammatory effects, and can inhibit or kill a variety of cocci, bacilli, fungi, viruses, etc. Allicin has obvious inhibitory or killing effects on a variety of pathogenic bacteria, such as staphylococci, meningitis, pneumococci, streptococci, diphtheria, dysentery, Escherichia coli, typhoid fever, paratyphoid fever, whooping cough, tuberculosis bacilli and Vibrio cholerae. killing effect. It can treat acute bacillary dysentery, whooping cough, infant diarrhea, lobar pneumonia, tuberculosis, wound suppuration, trachoma, etc. The antibacterial principle of allicin is that the oxygen atoms in the allicin molecules combine with the sulfhydryl groups in the cysteine ??molecules necessary for bacterial growth and reproduction, thereby inhibiting the growth and reproduction of bacteria.

Allicin has inhibitory or killing effects on a variety of pathogenic fungi, including Candida albicans. At low concentrations, it mainly inhibits the growth of fungi, and at high concentrations, it can completely kill the fungi. It has been clinically used to treat cryptococcal meningitis, fungal infections of the lungs and digestive tract, Candida albicans toxemia, pediatric indigestion caused by Candida albicans, fungal keratitis, neonatal thrush, tinea capitis, etc.[ The antifungal mechanism of allicin is: inactivating proteins through the oxidation of sulfhydryl groups; competitive inhibition of sulfhydryl-containing compounds such as cystine and glutcystine; and non-competitive inhibition of the activity of certain enzymes in fungi.

Cytomegalovirus (CMV) infection is one of the main causes of bone marrow transplant failure and patient death, and there is currently a lack of effective preventive measures. Clinical studies have found that allicin has a significant preventive and therapeutic effect on human cytomegalovirus infection in bone marrow transplant recipients. Cryptosporidium is a newly discovered pathogen that can cause diarrhea in infants and young children. There is currently no specific drug for diarrhea caused by Cryptosporidium. Domestic trials of allicin treatment have achieved good results. Allicin can effectively kill Toxoplasma gondii tachyzoites, and has an obvious effect on resisting Toxoplasma gondii infection, especially the recurrence of toxoplasmosis. The destruction rate of allicin's dipropenyl dithiol solution on hepatitis B virus surface antigen reached 43.5%, proving that allicin has a certain destructive effect on hepatitis B virus surface antigen. Allicin also has anti-trichomonal effects and has been clinically proven to have a good therapeutic effect on amoebic dysentery and trichomonal vaginitis.

Effects on the digestive tract system

Chronic gastric disease: Allicin can reduce the nitrite content in the stomach and inhibit nitrate-reducing bacteria. In patients with atrophic gastritis treated with allicin, the pH value of gastric juice decreased, the acidity increased, and the nitrite content in gastric juice decreased after taking the medicine for 1 month. Allicin is used to treat chronic gastric diseases. It can significantly improve symptoms such as gastric discomfort, fullness, dull pain, acid reflux, belching, burning, and loss of appetite, suggesting that allicin has a certain therapeutic effect on chronic gastric diseases.

Helicobacter pylori (HP)-related peptic ulcer: Studies have proven that Helicobacter pylori infection is the main cause of peptic ulcer. Allicin has obvious antibacterial and bactericidal effects on digestive tract bacteria. Allicin is clinically used to treat HP-related peptic ulcers, and the results confirm that allicin is effective in treating HP-related gastric and duodenal ulcers.

Chronic colitis: Chronic diarrhea caused by chronic colitis is a common clinical manifestation of digestive system diseases. Wang Deli et al. used Miya BM preparation (mainly containing butyric acid bacteria) and allicin to treat 52 patients with chronic colitis. The results showed that allicin has good efficacy in treating diarrhea caused by chronic colitis.

Hepatoprotective effect: Allicin has a significant inhibitory effect on the increase in serum chlorine and lipid peroxide malondialdehyde levels caused by carbon tetrachloride-induced liver injury in rats. This effect has Dose-effect relationship. It is believed that the protective mechanism of allicin against chemical liver injury is that allicin can inhibit the damage of lipid peroxides to the membrane structure. Allicin can dose-dependently inhibit the depletion of GSH and the decrease of GST in mouse liver tissue, increase the activity of glutathione S-transferase in liver cells, and increase the binding and detoxification function of the liver, thereby protecting the liver and even the entire body. Allicin can increase the level of cyclic AMP in the liver, regulate lipid metabolism membrane transport and cell proliferation, and increase enzyme activity, increase blood lipid hydrolysis, reduce biosynthesis, increase the excretion of blood lipid components, and maintain the health of serum, liver, and kidneys. The lipoproteins and triglycerides are within the normal range, thereby preventing and treating fatty liver.

Effects on the cardiovascular, cerebrovascular and blood systems

The effects of allicin on the cardiovascular system are through lowering plasma total cholesterol, lowering blood pressure, inhibiting platelet activity, lowering hematocrit, and lowering This is achieved by blood viscosity and other functions. Li Ge et al. used allicin to prevent and treat myocardial ischemia-reperfusion injury. Mao Jianlan et al. found that the leukocyte filtration index of peripheral blood increased significantly in the acute phase of cerebral infarction. After allicin treatment, while symptoms improved, the leukocyte filtration index decreased significantly, and whole blood rheology indicators also improved. Studies have shown that allicin has the effects of promoting blood circulation and removing blood stasis, dispersing cold and dredging collaterals. Allicin has achieved good results in the treatment of coronary heart disease, angina pectoris and peripheral vascular disease. The use of allicin tablets can reduce the body's plasma endothelin (ET) levels, which is of great significance for preventing and alleviating coronary spasm and reducing peripheral vascular tension. Allicin tablets can increase plasma nitric oxide (N0) concentration, which is helpful to prevent coronary artery spasm and keep the body in a state of coronary artery relaxation.

At the same time, allicin has an inhibitory effect on the increase in cholesterol levels and fibrinogen in the body, and can increase fibrinolytic activity, indicating that allicin tablets can effectively reduce or eliminate the occurrence of atherosclerosis and thrombosis in patients with coronary heart disease and angina pectoris. Jia Haizhong et al. observed the effect of allicin on hypertension in unstable angina pectoris and found that allicin had a significant lowering effect on both systolic blood pressure and diastolic blood pressure, and the blood pressure reduction rate was faster than that of puerarin. The mechanism of allicin's antihypertensive effect may be through calcium antagonism, dilation of peripheral blood vessels, or through synergistic antihypertensive effects.

The anti-arrhythmic effect of allicin has also attracted the attention of some scholars. Martin et al. reported that allicin can slow down sinus heart rate, inhibit myocardial contraction, and have anti-arrhythmic effects. Relevant domestic experts pointed out that allicin plays an anti-arrhythmic effect by prolonging the effective refractory period of myocardial cells and reducing automaticity. Therefore, it can be used for arrhythmias based on rapid heart rate, such as premature beats, tachycardia, etc. As complementary therapy.

Effects on tumors

Experiments have confirmed that allicin has the effect of preventing gastric cancer. It affects the growth of nitrate-reducing bacteria isolated from gastric juice and the production of nitrite. It has obvious inhibitory effect and can reduce the nitrite content in human gastric juice, thereby reducing the risk of gastric cancer. The immune indicators of patients treated with allicin also showed that after treatment, the phagocytosis rate of macrophages and lymphocyte transformation rate were significantly increased in most patients. cAMP is a negative signal for tumor cell growth. Increasing intracellular cAMP levels in any way can inhibit the growth of tumor tissue and promote its differentiation. "Allicin can increase cAMP levels in tumor tissue and inhibit the excessive growth and proliferation of tumor tissue." Xie Yuntao et al., in their study of allicin inhibiting the growth of mouse S180, observed from transmission electron microscopy that the tumor cell membrane and nuclear membrane shrunk and fractured, and that mitochondria The occurrence of swelling and hollow-like changes indicates that allicin has a direct killing effect on tumor cells. Zhang Guimei et al. [2] studied the killing and inhibition of macrophages by allicin in mouse S 180 sarcoma cells, Ehrlich ascites cancer cells and liver cancer cells. Studies have shown that allicin, alone or in synergy with other activators, can enhance the anti-tumor activity of macrophages, and can also enhance the sensitivity of certain tumor cells to macrophage-mediated cytotoxicity. Sun Li's research results show that allicin can induce apoptosis in tumor cells, and the reason may be related to the decrease in telomerase activity. After the telomerase activity decreases, cell mitosis is blocked, leading to cell apoptosis. When analyzing the cancer cell cycle by FCM, it was found that allicin can block tumor cells from entering the S phase from the G1 phase, causing cells in the G1 phase to accumulate, thereby inhibiting cell proliferation. Experiments have shown that epidermal growth factor exists in human tumor tissues. (EGF), EGF exists in the cytoplasm of cancer cells, and EGF is not found in the nuclei of cancer cells and cancer-free parts, suggesting that EGF in cancer tissues is produced by human liver cancer cells. Moyer et al. demonstrated that allicin can significantly inhibit human liver cancer. The expression of epidermal growth factor receptor (EGFR) can significantly reduce the up-regulation of EGFR caused by EGF stimulation of human liver cancer cells, thereby inhibiting the growth of cancer cells. Allicin can also inhibit skin cancer, colon cancer, esophageal cancer, and nasopharyngeal cancer. Cancer, liver cancer. One of the reasons is that garlic can prevent the formation of free radicals and reduce the chance of damaging DNA, cell membranes and cell proteins.

The impact on sugar metabolism.

Diabetes is a syndrome characterized by increased blood sugar and urine sugar, which leads to multiple organ damage. How to reverse the hyperglycemic state of diabetes has always been the focus of research by domestic and foreign scholars. Insulin plays a very important role in regulating blood sugar levels in the body. Effect. Animal experiments show that allicin at different doses can reduce blood sugar levels, and its blood sugar-lowering effect is mainly achieved by increasing serum insulin levels. At the same time, pathology has confirmed that allicin mainly promotes the transformation of pancreatic cardiomyocytes. , pancreatic islet cells proliferate, increase insulin secretion, and exert a hypoglycemic effect. Moreover, allicin combines with fat, sugar, and protein in the body to form lipid allicin, glycolic allicin, and complex proteins. These combinations work to obtain a This has the same effect as vitamin E. In addition to its antioxidant effect, vitamin E also has the effect of improving insulin. The key is to maintain the integrity of the endoplasmic reticulum structure of pancreatic islet endocrine cells and ensure the synthesis and secretion of insulin.

Experiments have shown that allicin has an inhibitory effect on the sperm of rats, voles and humans. The strength of the inhibitory effect is related to the concentration of the drug. Morphological changes were found. Inhalation of this drug by male rats did not interfere with normal spermatogenesis, and the effect was better than gossypol. At the same time, it has no irritating effect on the vagina at its effective sperm-inhibiting concentration, nor does it inhibit the growth and reproduction of Lactobacilli. It will neither cause local adverse reactions nor interfere with the normal vaginal flora. It is also reported that allicin ethanol extract can enhance the contraction frequency and amplitude of guinea pig isolated uterus, and its effect is similar to that of pituitary hormone.

Effects on the body's immune function

Allicin is a good immune-stimulating Chinese herbal medicine.

In experiments on the effects of allicin on the immune function of mice, it was found that the weight of the spleen and thymus increased in the drug-taking group, T lymphocyte activation increased, the number of spleen antibody-forming cells increased, the secretion level of monocytes increased, and lysozyme increased. The release is increased, so allicin can improve cellular immunity, humoral immunity and non-specific immune functions.

Effects on other aspects

Allicin has an antagonistic effect on the lethal effects of lead-poisoned mice and can improve the survival rate of lead-poisoned mice. For mice with chronic lead poisoning, it can reduce the lead content in their tissues, and the lead-removing effect of allicin is sustained and can effectively remove the lead accumulated in the body. In addition, allicin also has medical and health care functions such as removing dandruff, anti-itching, preventing neuralgia, treating mercury poisoning, anti-radiation, anti-oxidation, protecting biofilm, anti-aging, preventing and treating mosquito bites, and anti-cold.