Garlic (Allium sativum L., Liliaceae) has had an important dietary and
medicinal role for centuries. Its chemical constituents have benefici
al effects on cardiovascular risk factors and other medicinal effects
in the body. Several components of garlic ate known but the individual
compounds responsible for its divergent properties have yet to be est
ablished. There is a link between garlic and the L-arginine-nitric oxi
de pathway. Amino acid analysis of garlic powder demonstrates that it
is a rich source of arginine, the precursor for nitric oxide. However,
neither arginine nor alliin-derived products were found to be respons
ible for the activation of nitric oxide synthase by garlic in cell-fre
e homogenates. Heat treatment of garlic presented its capacity for enz
yme activation.