EFFECT OF GARLIC´S ACTIVE CONSTITUENTS IN INFLAMMATION, OBESITY, AND CARDIOVASCULAR DISEASE

MATILDE DE PAOLA; LEÓN FERDER; ISABEL QUESADA; ALEJANDRA CAMARGO; CLAUDIA CASTRO; CAROLINA TORRES; WALTER MANUCHA

CURRENT HYPERTENSION REPORTS

CURRENT MEDICINE GROUP

Año: 2020 vol. 22 p. 1 - 10

1522-6417

According to investigations in phytomedicine and ethnopharmacology field, the therapeutic properties of garlic (Allium sativum) have been already described by ancestral cultures. Notwithstanding, nowadays, it is of particular concern to elucidate the molecular mechanisms underlying this millenary empirical knowledge. Allicin (S-allyl prop-2-ene-1-sulfinothioate) a thioester of sulfenic acid, is one of the mainly bioactive compounds present in garlic, and it is responsible for the particular aroma of the spice. The pharmacological attributes of allicin integrate a broad spectrum (e.g., anti‑inflammatory, immunomodulatory, antibiotic, antifungal, antiparasitic, anti-oxidant, nephroprotective, neuroprotective, cardioprotective, and anti-tumoral activities, among others). The primary goal of the present chapter is to review and to clarify the common molecular mechanisms by which allicin performs its therapeutic effect in cardiovascular diseases as well as neuroinflammatory processes. The intricate interface connecting the cardiovascular and nervous systems suggest that the impairment of one organ could contribute to dysfunction of another. Allicin might target the cornerstone of pathological processes underlying cardiovascular and neuroinflammatory disorders like inflammation, RAAS hyperactivation, oxidative stress, and mitochondrial dysfunction.