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Garlic | | Name : | Garlic | | Botanical : | Allium sativum | | Ayurvedic : | Garlic, Lashan, Rasonam, Lashuna | | Latin : | Allium sativum L. | | Synonyms : | Clovegarlic
Dasuan (Chinese name)
Rashona(Sanskrit name)
Tricolorgarlic
Stinkweed
| | Family : | Liliaceae | | Parts Used : | Bulb | | Habitat : | Widely cultivated as one of the most common kitchen herbs. Occasionallyfound growing wild. Found along roadsides and fields from New Yorkto Tennessee, Kentucky, Missouri. | | Picture : |  | | Description : | The leaves are long, narrow and flat like grass. The bulb (the only part eaten) is of a compound nature, consisting of numerous bulblets, known technically as 'cloves,' grouped together between the membraneous scales and enclosed within a whitish skin, which holds them as in a sac.
The flowers are placed at the end of a stalk rising direct from the bulb and are whitish, grouped together in a globular head, or umbel, with an enclosing kind of leaf or spathae, and among them are small bulbils.
To prevent the plant running to leaf, Pliny (Natural History, XIX, 34) advised bending the stalk downward and covering it with earth, seeding, he observed, may be prevented by twisting the stalk.
In England, Garlic, apart from medicinal purposes, is seldom used except as a seasoning, but in the southern counties of Europe it is a common ingredient in dishes, and is largely consumed by the agricultural population. From the earliest times, indeed, Garlichas been used as an article of diet. | | Constituents : | The active properties of Garlic depend on a pungent, volatile, essentialoil, which may readily be obtained by distillation with water. It is a sulphide of the radical Allyl, present in all the onion family. This oil is rich in sulphur, but contains no oxygen. The pecular penetrating odour of Garlic is due to this intensely smelling sulphuret of allyl, and is so diffusive that even when the bulb is applied to the soles of the feet, its odour is exhaled by the lungs. | | Uses : | Diaphoretic, diuretic, expectorant, stimulant. Many marvellous effects and healing powers have been ascribed to Garlic. It possesses stimulant and stomachic properties in addition to its other virtues.
As an antiseptic, its use has long been recognized. In the late war it was widely employed in the control of suppuration in wounds. The raw juice is expressed, diluted with water, and put on swabs of sterilized Sphagnum moss, which are applied to the wound. Where this treatment has been given, it has been proved that there have been no septic results, and the lives of thousands of men have been saved by its use.
It is sometimes externally applied in ointments and lotions, and as an antiseptic, to disperse hard swellings, also pounded and employed as a poultice for scrofulous sores. It is said to prevent anthrax in cattle, being largely used for the purpose.
In olden days, Garlic was employed as a specific for leprosy. It was also believed that it had most beneficial results in cases of smallpox, if cut small and applied to the soles of the feet in a linen cloth, renewed daily.
It formed the principal ingredient in the 'Four Thieves' Vinegar,' which was adapted so successfully at Marseilles for protection against the plague when it prevailed there in 1722. This originated, it is said, with four thieves who confessed, that whilst protected by the liberal use of aromatic vinegar during the plague, they plundered the dead bodies of its victims with complete security.
It is stated that during an outbreak of infectious fever in certain poor quarters of London, early last century, the French priests who constantly used Garlic in all their dishes, visited the worst cases with impunity, whilst the English clergy caught the infection, and in many instances fell victims to the disease.
Syrup of Garlic is an invaluable medicine for asthma, hoarseness, coughs, difficulty of breathing, and most other disorders of the lungs, being of particular virtue in chronic bronchitis, on account of its powers of promoting expectoration. It is made by pouring a quart of water, boiled hot, upon a pound of the fresh root, cut into slices, and allowed to stand in a closed vessel for twelve hours, sugar then being added to make it of the consistency of syrup. Vinegar and honey greatly improve this syrup as a medicine. A little caraway and sweet fennel seed bruised and boiled for a short time in the vinegar before it is added to the Garlic, will cover the pungent smell of the latter.
A remedy for asthma, that was formerly most popular, is a syrup of Garlic, made by boiling the bulbs till soft and adding an equal quantity of vinegar to the water in which they have been boiled, and then sugared and boiled down to a syrup. The syrup is then poured over the boiled bulbs, which have been allowed to dry meanwhile, and kept in a jar. Each morning a bulb or two is to be taken, with a spoonful of the syrup.
Syrup made by melting 1 1/2 OZ. of lump sugar in 1 OZ. of the raw expressed juice may be given to children in cases of coughs without inflammation.
The successful treatment of tubercular consumption by Garlic has been recorded, the freshly expressed juice, diluted with equal quantities of water, or dilute spirit of wine, being inhaled antiseptically.
Bruised and mixed with lard, it has been proved to relieve whooping-cough if rubbed on the chest and between the shoulder-blades.
An infusion of the bruised bulbs, given before and after every meal, has been considered of good effect in epilepsy.
A clove or two of Garlic, pounded with honey and taken two or three nights successively, is good in rheumatism.
Garlic has also been employed with advantage in dropsy, removing the water which may already have collected and preventing its future accumulation. It is stated that some dropsies have been cured by it alone.
If sniffed into the nostrils, it will revive a hysterical sufferer. Amongst physiological results, it is reported that Garlic makes the eye retina more sensitive and less able to bear strong light.
The juice of Garlic, and milk of Garlic made by boiling the bruised bulbs in milk is used as a vermifuge. | | Dosage : | Gather bulbs in the fall.
Juice: take 1/2 tsp. of the juice pressed from the bulb, thinnedwith water, 2-3 times per day.
Cold extract: let several cloves of garlic stand in 1/2cup water for 6-8 hours.
Cloves: for coughs, take grated garlic mixed with honey.
Tincture: let 1/2 lb. peeled cloves soak in 1 qt.brandy for 14 days at a temperature of 85 degreesF. in a bottle with an airtight seal. Shake several times aday. Strain when the time is up to get a tincture which will keepfor about a year. Take 5-25 drops, several times a day,as needed.
Stir-frying the cloves of garlic for a few minutes will help eliminatethe garlic breath and aftertaste. 2 or 3 cookedcloves daily will reap maximum benefits. | | Safety : | Pregnant women should use in small amounts as garlic is a mild emmenagogue(encourages menstrual flow); also therapeutic doses during pregnancyand lactation can cause indigestion problems such as heart-burn, andnursing babies may dislike the taste of breast milk.
The essential oil extracted from the bulbs is extremely concentratedand can be irritating. Eating 10 or more raw garlic cloves per daycan be toxic and in some cases can trigger an allergic reaction. | | Myths : | In ancient times, the Chinese, Romans, Egyptians, Hindus, and Babyloniansall believed that garlic cured intestinal orders, infections of therespiratory system, relieved flatulence, treated skin diseases, wounds,worms and delayed the signs of aging.
Garlic is even mentioned in the Calendar of the Hsia, a book of 2,000years before Christ. It is called Hsiao-suan to distinguish it fromAllium scorodoprasum which is called Ta-suan.
The odor of garlic is so powerful and penetrating that if appliedto the feet, its scent is in the breath and when garlic is eaten,it is communicated through the pores of the skin, even to the fingers.It may be detected in the flesh of animals that have eaten garlic;or even in the eggs of fowls that have eaten it.
In Egypt several thousand years before Christ, garlic was given tolaborers. The Bible records that the Israelites who lived in Egyptat the time of Moses also ate garlic before their exodus out of thatcountry. The Romans gave garlic to their laborers; and their soldiersate it in the belief that it inspired courage. Thus it was dedicatedto Mars, the Roman god of war.
'When Satan stepped out from the Garden of Eden after the fall ofman, Garlick sprang up from the spot where he placed his left foot,and Onion from that where his right foot touched'. Such is the legendsome herbalists attributed to the Mohammedans.
Since the ancients believed that many diseases were the result ofevil spells, garlic with its effective medicinal qualities was thoughtto possess magical power against evil; thus it was used in many charmsand countercharms. In Greek legend, Odysseus used moly, a mild garlic,as a charm to keep the sorceress Circe from turning him into a pig.In the Middle Ages, garlic was considered strong against the evileye, witches, and demons. Another tradition still held in rural NewMexico is the use of garlic as a charm to help a young girl rid herselfof an unwanted boyfriend. She first puts a piece of garlic and twocrossed pins in a spot where two roads intersect, and then she mustget the boy to walk over the charm without noticing it. If the taskis accomplished successfully, the boy will miraculously lose all interestin her.
During the time of the Pharoahs, when Egypt was at its peak of power,garlic was given to the laborers and slaves. The common people hadgarlic included in the diet to help protect them from disease. TheEbers Papyrus, an Egyptian medical papyrus dated sometime around 1500BC, mentions garlic 22 times as a remedy for a variety of diseases.Hippocrates, the father of modern medicine, used garlic as a laxative,a diuretic, for tumors of the uterus, leprosy, epilepsy, chest pains,toothaches, and for wounds incurred during battle. Aristotle alsomentions the value of garlic and Aristophanes used garlic as a treatmentfor impotence.
The yogis used garlic as a medicine, but did not recommend it asa food or spice because of its irritating properties.
The juice of garlic is said by the old-timers to be the best andstrongest cement that can be adopted for broken glass and china, leavinglittle or no mark, if used with care.
In the 1950's, Dr. Albert Schweitzer used garlic to treat cholera,typhus, and amebic dysentery while he was working in Africa as a missionary.The Soviet army relied heavily on garlic during World Wars I and II,it earned the name 'Russian penicillin.'
During the Great Plague epidemic, some herbalists avoided the deadlydisease by eating large amounts of garlic and wearing garlic strandsaround their necks. To date, it has not been determined whether thegarlic's antibiotic properties protected these people against theplague, or whether the foul stench of the herb discouraged othersfrom getting close enough to spread their infection.
Since 1979, Gilroy, California, known as the 'Garlic Capital of theWorld,' has hosted the Annual Garlic Festival in celebration of theannual garlic harvest. Held the last weekend of July each year, theevent is a 3 day gourmet food and wine tasting party drawing morethan 140,000 garlic fans. 90% of the United States garlic crop isgrown in Gilroy and its environs. American humorist Will Rogers oncesaid of Gilroy 'the only town in America where you can marinate asteak by hanging it on the clothesline.' | | Nutrient : | Calcium, copper, germanium, iron, magnesium, manganese, phosphorus,potassium, vitamins A, B1, B2, and C, and zinc. | | Sold : | Odorless tablets
Garlic powder
Garlic salt
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