Allium Sativum is the botanical name for garlic. This is also known by names like, ‘Lasan’ in Hindi and ‘Lasuna’ and ‘Rasonam’ in Sanskrit.
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Uses
Garlic has been used for hardening of the arteries (atherosclerosis) and high blood pressure (hypertension). Consult your doctor for more information if you have heart disease or high blood pressure. Garlic has also been used to prevent tick bites. Some herbal/dietary supplement products have been found to contain possibly harmful impurities/additives.
Benefits
Ayurvedic medicine used garlic as an overall health stimulant rather than relieve for diseases and for its effectiveness in improving health of digestive, nervous, circulatory, respiratory, and reproductive systems.
SOME THERAPEUTIC EFFECTS OF ALLIUM SATIVUM ARE:
- Unani medicine uses garlic to relieve intestinal infection, dysentery, arthritis, colic in children, and food poisoning.
- South-west Americans use garlic to relieve cough while Appalachians use it to relieve chest colds and pneumonia.
- In Thailand, people eat raw garlic to avert diarrhea caused by parasites. A decoction prepared using fresh bulb is ingested orally to relieve inflammation. Crushed bulb is used as a poultice.
- French use garlic to relieve arteriosclerosis, allergies, asthma, arthritis, bronchial disorders, incontinence, acne, liver diseases, hypertension and emphysema.
- In Yugoslavia, hot water extract of the bulb is used to relieve diabetes.
- West-Indians use bulb–extract to relieve hypertension. They apply extract on the abdomen to facilitate parturition.
- Africans use garlic as anti-bacterial agent to relieve boils, sore throats and infected wounds.
The essential oil from garlic is used as diuretic, antimicrobial, antispasmodic, emmenagogue and anti-asthmatic.
Cautions
Allium Sativum is regarded safe making it an extensively used ingredient in cooking. While moderation is beneficial, ingestion of its bulb-extract or essential oil may sometimes cause nausea, diarrhea, vomiting or heartburn.
Interactions
None are recorded.
Other names
garlic
References
Source: AlwaysAurveda, http://www.alwaysayurveda.com/allium-sativum/
MedicineNet, http://www.medicinenet.com/garlic_allium_sativum_l-oral/article.htm