Aged Garlic Extract Prevents a Decline of NK Cell Number and Activity in Patients with Advanced Cancer

Abstract

Aged garlic extract (AGE) has manifold biological activities including immunomodulative and antioxidative effects. It is used as a major component of nonprescription tonics and cold-prevention medicines or dietary supplements. Advanced-cancer patients decline in immune functions and quality of life (QOL). The study's subjects were patients with inoperable colorectal, liver, or pancreatic cancer. In a randomized double-blind trial, AGE was administered to one group and a placebo was administered to another for 6 mo. The primary endpoint was a QOL questionnaire based on the Functional Assessment of Cancer Therapy (FACT). The subendpoints were changes in the natural-killer (NK) cell activity the salivary cortisol level from before and after administering AGE. Out of 55 patients invited to participate in the trial, 50 (91%) consented to enroll. They consisted of 42 patients with liver cancer (84%), 7 patients with pancreatic cancer (14%), and 1 patient with colon cancer (2%). Drug compliance was relatively good in both the AGE and placebo groups. Although no difference was observed in QOL, both the number of NK cells and the NK cell activity increased significantly in the AGE group. No adverse effect was observed in either group. The study showed that administering AGE to patients with advanced cancer of the digestive system improved NK cell activity, but caused no improvement in QOL.

Aged black garlic extract induces inhibition of gastric cancer cell growth in�vitro and in�vivo

“…The results demonstrated that administration of ABGE stimulates proliferation of lymphocytes and macrophage phagocytosis, induces splenic hypertrophy and the infiltration of macrophages and lymphocytes, and stimulates release of IL-2 in transplanted tumors (38). It has been reported that the effective dose of AΒGE to enhance immune responses ranged from 1.8 g/day to 10 g/day, indicating that it is more practical for future complementary and alternative therapy (39). In the present study, the level of IL-2 increased gradually in tumor-bearing mice depending on the dosage of ABGE.…”

Two Weeks of Permanence in Negatively-Charged Air Conditions Causes Alteration of Natural Killer Cell Function

“…Samples that showed less than the lower limitation of analytical methods for cytokines and Igs, 1/10 the value of minimum values among whole measurable samples, were substituted instead of using "0" or the designation "unmeasurable". The NK cell activity was determined by "Cr-release assay according to the method cited in the previous reports (33)(34). The effector cell (mononuclear cell) and target cell (K562 cell) ratio is 10:1.…”

Soluble components of Hericium erinaceum induce NK cell activation via production of interleukin-12 in mice splenocytes

“…Natural resource-derived compounds such as ginseng extract or echinacea root extract have been investigated as potential immunomodulators for the treatment of cancer patients [12,13] . Many of these studies have focused on the activation of NK cells and demonstrated positive results [14,15] . Furthermore, polysaccharides found in various mushrooms have recently attracted attention due to their NK cell-related immune-activating properties [16][17][18][19] .…”