Pharmacologic activities of aged garlic extract in comparison with other garlic preparations

We investigated the pharmacologic activities of four garlic preparations, r aw garlic juice (RGJ), heated garlic juice (HGJ), dehydrated garlic powder (DGP) and aged garlic extract (AGE). The study used three animal models, i. e., testicular hypogonadism (hypospermatogensis and impotence) induced by w arm water treatment, intoxication of acetaldehyde and growth of inoculated tumor cells. RGJ was found to be effective only in recovery of testicular f unction. The efficacy of HGJ was observed in three models; however, it did not improve impotence. DGP was effective in recovery of spermatogenesis and stimulated acetaldehyde detoxification. Significant beneficial effects of AGE were found in all three models. Although all four garlic preparations s ignificantly enhanced natural killer (NK) and killer cell activities of the spleen cells of tumor-bearing mice, only AGE and HGJ inhibited the growth of inoculated tumor cells. These results suggest that different types of ga rlic preparations have different pharmacologic properties, and among the fo ur garlic preparations studied, AGE could be the most useful garlic prepara tion.