Lab Tests Find Garlic Potent
Against Malaria, Cancer
Excerpt By Drex Earle, Reuters Health

ATLANTA (Reuters Health) - Compounds that help give garlic its smell can battle malaria infection in the lab, and may use a similar mechanism to attack certain cancer cells, according to the results of a new study.

Dr. Ian Crandall of the University of Toronto presented his research here Tuesday at the American Society of Tropical Medicine and Hygiene's 50th annual meeting.

Chemicals known as disulfides, which are found in onions, garlic and mahogany trees, are known to be active against fungus, bacteria and cancer. Animal studies have also shown they can fight malaria.

To investigate their effects, Crandall and colleagues exposed cultured, malaria-infected human cells to 11 disulfide compounds. They found that the compounds that helped wipe out the malaria parasite were also active against cultured melanoma cells.

``Apparently malaria-infected cells and some cancer cells have the same susceptibility profile,'' Crandall told Reuters Health. ``However, the exact mechanism of action is still unclear.''

Ajoene and dysoxysulfone, two disulfide compounds found in garlic and onions, may ward off malaria by disrupting an enzyme important in allowing malaria to infect cells and cancer cells to reproduce, he suggested.

``This is kind of interesting because if you have malaria in the area, eating a diet rich in garlic and onions could give you an edge,'' Crandall told Reuters Health.

While loading up on garlic and onions may help ward off these diseases, Crandall noted that one possible drawback is that ``whenever we open a vial containing these compounds, virtually everybody runs to the door.''

Reference Source 89

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