
                         Roanoke Times
                 Copyright (c) 1995, Landmark Communications, Inc.

DATE: TUESDAY, August 2, 1994                   TAG: 9408180027
SECTION: EXTRA                    PAGE: 1   EDITION: METRO 
SOURCE: JANE BRODY
DATELINE:                                 LENGTH: Medium

THEY'RE NOT SURE WHY, BUT GARLIC IS GOOD

While the producers of garlic supplements battle over whether consumers are likely to benefit more from a powder or an extract of the ``stinking bulb,'' scientists are zeroing in on exactly what components of garlic might be medically helpful and how the substances work.

The good news is that whatever good garlic does, the effects do not depend upon its culinarily prized but socially scorned scent.

Allicin, the odoriferous chemical formed when a garlic clove is cut or bruised, ``is not important at all,'' said Dr. Herbert Pierson, formerly of the National Cancer Institute who now heads Preventive Nutrition Consultants Inc., an international consulting company in Woodinville, Wash.

``Allicin is highly unstable and degrades instantly in processing, when exposed to heat, oxygen, light, proteins or changes in acidity,'' he explained. ``It is not crucial to any of garlic's biological activities.'' That is a good thing, because allicin is a toxic substance that can kill cells indiscriminately.

You do not have to purchase supplements to derive garlic's benefits; just eating it in any form or using garlic powder sold as a condiment in grocery stores should do as much good.

Furthermore, garlic is not the only member of the allium family that is likely to confer medicinal benefits: onions, scallions, shallots and chives contain many of the same substances and may be equally helpful.

At a recent meeting on so-called designer foods in Washington, organized by Pierson and Dr. Paul. Lachance of Rutgers University in New Brunswick, N.J., scientists from research centers around the world used many eight-syllable words and described elaborate laboratory experiments to define scientifically what the Chinese have believed for more than 4,000 years: that garlic seems to have preventive and therapeutic actions on many fronts, from battling infections and neurological deterioration to helping prevent and treat heart disease and cancer.

But the researchers emphasized that garlic is no panacea, nor should it be relied upon as a primary treatment. No one questions that modern antibiotics, a heart-friendly diet and exercise regimen and established treatments for cancer are far more effective than any amount of garlic.

Rather, garlic may serve as an adjunct that helps to enhance immune responses, curb coronary risk factors, block the action of carcinogens and perhaps even contain the spread of cancer.

Garlic and its relatives are rich sources of sulfur-containing compounds that have a variety of pharmacological activities. Many of these compounds are formed when allicin breaks down.

But just as the amounts of these substances can vary from one garlic bulb to another, depending on the variety or on growing conditions and storage after harvest, the composition of garlic supplements also varies depending upon the processing procedure used.

Thus, an oil extract of garlic will contain only those compounds that are fat-soluble and a water-extract will contain only those that are water-soluble. Nonetheless, all forms of garlic - raw, cooked, dried and powdered, and extracted in oil or water - contain some sulfur compounds that tests indicate are beneficial to health.

``All garlic products have some efficacy, at least in animal systems,'' said Dr. John Milner, a nutrition researcher at Pennsylvania State University. ``There's not 10 cents worth of difference between any of them.''

Various garlic compounds with antioxidant properties help to lower cholesterol levels in the blood. In people with elevated cholesterol, garlic supplements taken daily for months, including the tablets sold as Kwai that are widely used in Europe, lowered cholesterol levels by an average of from 9 percent to 14 percent, which should translate into an 18 percent to 28 percent reduction in heart attack risk. Garlic can also lower levels of potentially harmful blood fats called triglycerides.

Probably more important is the ability of garlic components to reduce the blood's clotting tendency by lessening the stickiness of blood platelets and by promoting anticlotting activity. Scientists at the Washington meeting said garlic is much more potent than aspirin in this regard.

by CNB