The Immunomodulation and Anti-Inflammatory Effects of Garlic Organosulfur Compounds in Cancer Chemoprevention

Abstract

Garlic (Allium sativum) has been used for centuries as a prophylactic and therapeutic medicinal agent. Importantly, garlic has been suggested to have both cancer-preventive potential as well as significant enhancing effects on the immune system. While these observations are supported experimentally both in vitro and in vivo, the impact of garlic in assisting the immune system in the prevention of cancer still lacks experimental confirmation. Studies addressing the immunomodulatory effects of garlic reveal conflicting data as to pro- or anti-inflammatory responses depending on the particular experimental set-ups and the garlic preparation used (i.e. garlic extract versus chemically pure garlic compounds). Here we provide an overview of the chemistry of the major garlic organosulfur compounds, summarize the current understanding and propose a link between the immunomodulating activity of garlic and the prevention of cancer. We hypothesize that garlic rather elicits anti-inflammatory and anti-oxidative responses that aid in priming the organism towards eradication of an emerging tumor.

Stability and extraction of bioactive sulfur compounds from Allium genus processed by traditional and innovative technologies

“…Furthermore, recent studies have associated garlic consumption with preventive effects on human cancer (Chiavarini et al, 2016;de Giorgio and Stebbing, 2016;Kaschula et al, 2016;Myneni et al, 2016;Saud et al, 2016;Smith et al, 2016). The hypothesis underlying these studies may partially be explained by the anti-mutagenic and immune-modulatory effects of garlic derived allylsulfur compounds and their ability to exert a direct anti-proliferative effect on growing tumour cells by inducing apoptosis Powolny and Singh, 2008;Schafer and Kaschula, 2014).…”

The Progress of Diallyl Disulfide in Anti-Cancer

“…Particularly, chronic inflammation creates and maintains a tumor microenvironment where there is migration and a relative abundance of immune inflammatory cells and cytokines [117]. For example, studies have shown that tumor necrosis factor α (TNF-α), IL-8 and IL-10 levels are higher in patients with inflammationassociated cancer [118]. DADS has been shown to have both immunomodulatory and anti-inflammatory effects in several types of cancer [7,119].…”

Assessment of the effect of Allium sativum on serum nitric oxide level and hepatic histopathology in experimental cystic echinococcosis in mice

“…Allium sativum has significant enhancing effects on the immune system (Schäfer and Kaschula 2014). It has an ability to increase nitric oxide synthase activity intracellularly which explains why many of the therapeutic actions of garlic parallel the physiological effects of nitric oxide (Morihara et al 2002).…”