Anticarcinogenic, Antitumor, and Antifungal Properties of Allium Sativum (Garlic)

In this study the antimutagenic/anticarcinogenic, immune enhancing, antitumor and antifungal effects of a crude extract and organosulfur compounds of garlic were determined. Diallyl sulfide (DAS), and ajoene each at 100 /xg/ml, and garlic extract (GE, 12.5 mg/ml) inhibited rat liver 9000 X g supernatant (S- 9) dependent mutagenesis in Salmonella typhimurium TA100 induced by either aflatoxin B1 (AFB^ or benzo[a]pyrene (B[a]P). The garlic compounds were shown to inhibit the binding of [3H]AFB1 to calf thymus DNA and the formation of specific AFB1-DNA adducts. These effects on mutagenesis and DNA binding correlated with an inhibition of the metabolism of [3H]AFB1. Ajoene and DAS did not effect glutathione-S-transferase, an enzyme important to the conjugation of compounds to glutathione. GE was tested for its effects on immune function in a murine model by injecting C3H/He mice with Candida albicans. GE appeared to control C. albicans as exhibited in blood and kidney cultures. Peritoneal exudate cells obtained for chemiluminescent assays from garlic-treated mice exhibited an increased oxidative burst. The cytotoxic effects of diallyl disulfide (DADS, 5-200 /xg/ml), DAS (200 /ig/ml), dimethyl disulfide (DMDS, 5-400 /xg/ml) and allyl methyl sulfide (AMS, 5-400 /xg/ml), were determined with in vitro cultures of MBT-2, R3327, HL-60 and K562 tumor cells. DADS exhibited toxicity against all the tumor cell lines tested. DMDS was cytotoxic to K562 tumor cells and AMS was cytotoxic to MBT-2 cells. The effects of DADS, DAS, DMDS and AMS on the in vitro growth of C. albicans were investigated. Inhibitory concentrations mg/ml of DAS, DMDS, AMS and DADS were in the range of 0.625 - 1.250, 5 - 20, 10 - 20 and 156-625 /ig/ml respectively. The results of this study suggest that garlic compounds inhibited rat liver S-9 mediated AFB, metabolite binding to calf thymus DNA, AFBrDNA adduct formation and AFBrinduced mutagenesis in S. typhimurium TA100 by inhibition of microsomal mixed-function oxidase activity. Garlic compounds exhibited antifungal activity and enhanced phagocytic activity. In addition, garlic compounds were cytotoxic to several tumor cell lines