Garlic Oil
(Allium sativum)
GENERAL DESCRIPION A strongly scented perennial herb up to 1,2 metres high with long, flat, firm leaves and whitish flowering stems. The bulb is made up of several cloves pressed together within a thin white skin.
DISTRIBUTION It is said to have originated in south west Siberia and then spread to Europe and Central Asia. It is naturalised in North America and cultivated worldwide. Major oil-producing countries include Egypt, Bulgaria, France, China, Germany and Japan.
HERBAL / FOLK TRADITION It has been used for thousands of years for its medicinal virtues: for respiratory and urinary tract infections; digestive disorders and infestations; skin eruptions; heart disease, high blood pressure and arteriosclerosis, as well as epidemics and fever. It was used in the First World War for preventing gangrene and sepsis.
It has a high reputation in the East: in China it is used for diarrhoea, dysentery, tuberculosis, diphtheria, hepatitis, ringworm, typhoid and trachoma, among others. It is also held in high regard in the West: specific in the British Herbal Pharmacopoeia for chronic bronchitis. Its properties have been attested to by modern experimental and clinical research.
ACTIONS Amoebicidal, anthelmintic, antibiotic, antimicrobial, antiseptic, antitoxic, antitumour, antiviral, bactericidal, carminative, cholagogue, hypocholesterolemic, depurative, diaphoretic, diuretic, expectorant, febrifuge, fungicidal, hypoglycaemic, hypotensive, insecticidal, larvicidal, promotes leucocytosis, stomachic, tonic.
EXTRACTION Essential oil by steam distillation from the fresh crushed bulbs.
CHARACTERISTICS A colourless to pale yellow mobile liquid with a strong, unpleasant, familiar garlic-like odour.
AROMATHERAPY / HOME USE Due to its unpleasant and pervasive smell, the oil is not often used externally. However, the capsules may be taken internally according to the instructions on the label for respiratory and gastro-intestinal infections, urinary tract infections such as cystitis, heart and circulatory problems, and to fight infectious diseases in general.
OTHER USES The oil is made into capsules and also included in many health food products mainly to help reduce high blood pressure and protect against heart disease. Extensively employed as a flavour ingredient in most major food categories, especially savouries.
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