College of Pharmacy, Al-Qassim University, P.O. Box 31922, Buraidah 51418, Saudi Arabia.
Saudi Pharm J. 2010 Jan;18(1):51-8. doi: 10.1016/j.jsps.2009.12.007. Epub 2009 Dec 24.
Garlic (Allium sativum), a member of the family Liliaceae, contains an abundance of chemical compounds that have been shown to possess beneficial effects to protect against several diseases, including cancer. Evidence supports the protective effects of garlic in stomach, colorectal, breast cancer in humans. The protective effects appear to be related to the presence of organosulfur compounds, predominantly allyl derivatives, which also have been shown to inhibit carcinogenesis in forestomach, esophagus, colon, mammary gland and lung of experimental animals. The exact mechanisms of the cancer-preventive effects are not clear, although several hypotheses have been proposed. Organosulfur compounds modulate the activity of several metabolizing enzymes that activate (cytochrome P450s) or detoxify (glutathione S-transferases) carcinogens and inhibit the formation of DNA adducts in several target tissues. Antiproliferative activity has been described in several tumor cell lines, which is possibly mediated by induction of apoptosis and alterations of the cell cycle. Organosulfur compounds in garlic are thus possible cancer-preventive agents. Clinical trials will be required to define the effective dose that has no toxicity in humans.
大蒜（Allium sativum），百合科植物，含有丰富的化学物质，已被证明对多种疾病具有有益的保护作用，包括癌症。有证据表明大蒜对人类的胃癌、结直肠癌和乳腺癌具有保护作用。这种保护作用似乎与有机硫化合物的存在有关，主要是烯丙基衍生物，也已被证明可抑制实验动物的前胃、食管、结肠、乳腺和肺的癌变。尽管提出了几种假说，但癌症预防作用的确切机制尚不清楚。有机硫化合物调节几种代谢酶的活性，这些酶可激活（细胞色素 P450s）或解毒（谷胱甘肽 S-转移酶）致癌物质，并抑制几种靶组织中 DNA 加合物的形成。已在几种肿瘤细胞系中描述了抗增殖活性，这可能是通过诱导细胞凋亡和细胞周期改变来介导的。因此，大蒜中的有机硫化合物可能是一种预防癌症的物质。需要进行临床试验来确定对人类无毒的有效剂量。
