Garlic and onion alliin lyases, although from closely related species, have many differences. The two enzymes differ in their K(m) values, pH optima, and isoelectric points. There is a major difference in their molecular weight and subunit structure. The garlic holoenzyme has a molecular weight of 85,000 and consists of two subunits of molecular weight 42,000. The onion enzyme has a holoenzyme ...

Diabetes mellitus and its complications continue to be one of the highest causes of morbidity and mortality in recent times. Although many drugs are commercially available for use in the management of diabetes, their side effects and high costs underscore the need for herbal alternative drugs. This review presents the profiles of plants with hypoglycaemic properties reported in the literature. ...

BACKGROUND In the present study, we investigated the effects of oil products from two Allium species: Allium sativum (garlic) and Allium hookeri (Chinese chives) on cell proliferation and neuroblast differentiation in the mouse dentate gyrus. METHODS Using corn oil as a vehicle, the essential oil from garlic (10 ml/kg), or Chinese chives (10 ml/kg) was administered orally to 9-week-old mice o...

Efforts have been made to assess some plant extracts namely, Lycopersicon esculentum, Tagetus patula, Achras sapota, Azadirachta indica, Datura metel, Cymbopogon citrates, Polyalthia longifolia, Allium sativum and Allium cepa in vitro for the management of leaf spot (tikka) disease of groundnut cultivar Dhaka-1 caused by Cercospora arachidicola and Cercosporidium personatum. Results indicated t...

Epidemiologic studies show that the cardiovascular diseases are associated with multiple factors such as raised serum total cholesterol, increased LDL, increased platelet aggregation, hypertension and smoking. In-vitro studies have confirmed the ability of some plants of Allium species to reduce these parameters. Therefore, we evaluated anti-platelet aggregation effect of some Allium species (A...

We have purified a novel alliinase (EC 4.4.1.4) from roots of onion (Allium cepa L.). Two isoforms with alliinase activity (I and II) were separated by concanavalin A-Sepharose and had molecular masses of 52.7 (I) and 50.5 (II) kD on sodium dodecyl sulfate-polyacrylamide gel electrophoresis, and 51 (I) and 57.5 (II) kD by gel filtration fast-protein liquid chromatography. Isoform I had an isoel...

Thiosulfinates, a substance of Allium tuberosum L., is a known folk medicine that has been extensively used in diet to treat diseases. In the present study, we have evaluated the effect of thiosulfinates from Allium tumberosum L. on proliferation of metastasis (DU145) and primary malignant tumor (RC-58T/h/SA#4)-derived human prostate cancer cells. Thiosulfinates decrease viable cell numbers in ...

INTRODUCTION Several prostatic stents were developed in the last three decades, none of which were able to provide a real alternative in patients unfit or unwilling to undergo classical prostatic surgeries. In this study, we report the results of the use of a newly developed prostatic stent--the Allium™ Triangular Prostatic Stent (TPS). PATIENTS AND METHODS The Allium TPS is a highly flexible...

Louis Pasteur was the first to describe the antibacterial effect of onion and garlic juices. Historically, garlic has been used worldwide to fight bacterial infections. Allium vegetables, particularly garlic (Allium sativum L.) exhibit a broad antibiotic spectrum against both gram-positive and gram-negative bacteria. Noteworthy results published include the following: 1) raw juice of garlic was...

Concentration of engineered nickel oxide nanoparticle (NiO-NP) in nature is on the rise, owing to large scale industrial uses, which have accreted the scope of its exposure to plants, the primary producers of the ecosystem. Though an essential micronutrient for the animal system, supported by numerous studies confirming its toxicity at higher dosages, nickel oxide is graded as a human carcinoge...