Rivlin R S
Department of Medicine, Memorial Sloan-Kettering Cancer Center and Weill Medical College of Cornell University, New York Presbyterian Hospital, New York, NY 10021, USA.
J Nutr. 2001 Mar;131(3s):951S-4S. doi: 10.1093/jn/131.3.951S.
The objective of this review is to examine briefly the medical uses of garlic throughout the ages and the role that it was considered to play in prevention and treatment of disease. Interest in the potential benefits of garlic has origins in antiquity and is one of the earliest documented examples of plants employed for treatment of disease and maintenance of health. Garlic was in use at the beginning of recorded history and was found in Egyptian pyramids and ancient Greek temples. There are Biblical references to garlic. Ancient medical texts from Egypt, Greece, Rome, China and India each prescribed medical applications for garlic. In many cultures, garlic was administered to provide strength and increase work capacity for laborers. Hippocrates, the revered physician, prescribed garlic for a variety of conditions. Garlic was given to the original Olympic athletes in Greece, as perhaps one of the earliest "performance enhancing" agents. It is of interest that cultures that developed without contact with one another came to similar conclusions about the efficacy of garlic. Modern science is tending to confirm many of the beliefs of ancient cultures regarding garlic, defining mechanisms of action and exploring garlic's potential for disease prevention and treatment.
本综述的目的是简要考察大蒜在各个时代的医学用途，以及它在疾病预防和治疗中被认为所起的作用。对大蒜潜在益处的关注起源于古代，是有记载的最早将植物用于治疗疾病和维持健康的例子之一。大蒜在有记录的历史开始时就已被使用，在埃及金字塔和古希腊神庙中都有发现。《圣经》中也提到了大蒜。来自埃及、希腊、罗马、中国和印度的古代医学文献都记载了大蒜的医学用途。在许多文化中，大蒜被用于增强体力，提高劳动者的工作能力。备受尊崇的医生希波克拉底为多种病症开了大蒜的药方。大蒜被给予了希腊最初的奥运会运动员，可能是最早的“提高成绩”的药物之一。有趣的是，彼此没有接触而发展起来的文化对大蒜的功效得出了相似的结论。现代科学倾向于证实古代文化对大蒜的许多看法，确定其作用机制，并探索大蒜在疾病预防和治疗方面的潜力。
