Some Facts About Garlic

Some Facts About Garlic

Garlic has been utilized as both food and medicine for more than 5000 years. Recently, garlic has been the subject of serious scientific inquiry and medical attention because of the thousands of published studies showing the beneficial effects of garlic and garlic extracts.

Garlic extracts have been reported to have favorable effects on cardiovascular health by increasing circulation, and decreasing blood lipids and blood pressure. In fact, garlic extracts are among the most popular OTC pharmaceuticals in Europe, recommended and endorsed by numerous physicians and health authorities of the promotion of health. In addition to these properties, garlic has well documented antibacterial and antifungal action. Indeed, garlic has been used for thousands of years as an anti-infective agent, an effect now supported by experimental evidence showing that garlic and garlic extracts have potent antimicrobial activity. Garlic's ability to inhibit the development of cancer has also been widely studied, and is currently the subject of intensive research both in the United States and abroad.

With the proliferation of research showing that garlic has significant beneficial properties has come an explosion of garlic products intended to make it easier to obtain the benefits of garlic in a well-tolerated form. Only freshly crushed garlic contains all the allicin and other components that convey the beneficial properties of garlic. Unfortunately, fresh garlic has a strong, lingering odor and is pungent. There are a range of commercial garlic products available. However, most of them aren't standardized to ensure they contain garlic's active components. Additionally, because the active components in garlic have an odor, truly odorless garlic doesn't contain the active garlic components. Understanding the potency of these various garlic products requires some knowledge of the fascinating sulfur compounds found in garlic.

Allicin is a unique sulfur-containing compound that with its breakdown products, such as the thiosulfinates, is considered one of garlic's principal active ingredients. Allicin is formed enzymatically from alliin, an odorless precursor of allicin, when garlic cloves are crushed or mechanically disrupted. The concentration of allicin in commercial garlic powders can vary between .02 and 2.8 percent, and the total sulfur content can vary almost tenfold. Thus, not all garlic or garlic products are considered equal, because the concentration of active components can vary greatly. In making a standardized, deodorized garlic product the challenge has been to make a powder from garlic without crushing the cloves and generating the allicin and other odiferous components from the alliin.

VRP's Garlic Product

VRP offers Garlic Extract, an odor-controlled, dried garlic product that is standardized to yield thisosulfinates, alliin and total sulfur. Manufactured using a proprietary process, this garlic powder is very mild in odor because the alliin isn't converted into allicin or its breakdown products until after you consume the product. Because the odiferous components are slowly formed after ingestion, this garlic product is essentially odor-free. It's also standardized to ensure that you get all the benefits of the amazing sulfur compounds found in fresh garlic in a unique, odor-controlled form.