Garlic
Allium; Greek skorodon
- Known today as
- Allium sativum.
- Kind
- Plant, in 2 older authorities
- Constituents
- allicin, ajoene, diallyl disulfide
- Earliest authority here
- Herodotus (c. 484–c. 425 BC)
- Qualities
- Hot and dry in the fourth degree (Galenic tradition). What the degrees mean
- In other databases
- Plants of the World Online search · GBIF search · Wikidata search
Garlic: what does modern science say?
Allicin and related sulfur compounds are antimicrobial in the dish; garlic lowers blood pressure slightly, and it thins the blood, which matters before surgery.
Pharmacognosy & Toxicology
- Constituents
- Mechanism
- Allicin reacts with thiols and inhibits platelet aggregation.
- Toxic dose
- Bleeding risk with anticoagulants and before surgery.
- Standing
- A food; small effects on blood pressure in trials.
- Ried, K. (2016). “Garlic lowers blood pressure in hypertensive individuals.” Journal of Nutrition 146. Verified against its record · doi:10.3945/jn.114.202192
The abstract of each source, beneath its citation. For Club members. About the Club or sign in.
Constituent names open the compound’s record at PubChem, and “ChEMBL” beside a name opens its record at ChEMBL, the European Bioinformatics Institute’s database of bioactive molecules. Where a mechanism line was checked against ChEMBL (ChEMBL 37, read 1 October 2026), the check is shown with the measured value and its source paper, or says plainly that nothing has been measured. Doses are as the references give them, for description only; this is not medical advice. Each source carries the result of its check against Crossref, PubMed, or the authority’s page: see Verification.
Garlic: what lore surrounds it?
Hung at the door and worn against the evil eye, sorcery, and the unquiet dead, from Greek antiquity to the vampire tales of the nineteenth century.
Its reputation as a shield against evil reaches back long before the vampire tales. Egyptians and Greeks hung garlic at doorways and ate it before entering temples, as protection against disease and evil alike, and Roman soldiers are said to have carried cloves as a ward. The vampire belief itself is best documented in Slavic and Balkan folk tradition, and was popularized by nineteenth-century fiction.
Used in These Compounds
Garlic is an ingredient of 1 compound medicine in the database. For Club members. Create a free account or sign in.
Garlic: what did the older authorities say?
Sources
- Herodotus, Histories II. Verified against its record · doi:10.1093/oseo/instance.00271233
- Dioscorides, De materia medica. Read in part · the text read
- Encyclopaedia Britannica, “Garlic.” Book, seen in reviews
- Wikipedia, “Apotropaic magic.” Book, not indexed
Verification
- Checked
- October 1, 2026
- Passes
- Every sentence read against its sources, in the pass over the remaining 343 entries
- The Standing line checked against the authority it names (EMA, WHO, FDA, CITES, Commission E)
- Every dated or regulatory claim checked by category across the database
- Sources
- 5 cited: 1 read in part, 2 verified against its record, 1 book, seen in reviews, 1 book, not indexed. 1 with the abstract on file.
- Corrections
- None were needed.
What was checked, how, and what was found is set out on the Verification page. A checked source is one whose record was found; it does not make the entry medical advice.
Cite This Entry
Version 1 · first published September 25, 2026
- Chicago
“Garlic.” In Materia Medica, edited by B. C. P. Statema. Version 1. The Thinking Press, 2026–. Last modified September 25, 2026. https://thethinkingpress.org/materia-medica/garlic.
- MLA
“Garlic.” Materia Medica, edited by B. C. P. Statema, version 1, The Thinking Press, 25 Sept. 2026, thethinkingpress.org/materia-medica/garlic. Accessed 8 Oct. 2026.
- APA
Garlic. (2026, September 25). In B. C. P. Statema (Ed.), Materia medica (Version 1). The Thinking Press. Retrieved October 8, 2026, from https://thethinkingpress.org/materia-medica/garlic
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See Also
Sharing ajoene
Also in Herodotus
Hemp in Herodotus · Frankincense in Herodotus · Labdanum in Herodotus · Cinnamon in Herodotus · everything Herodotus names →
Also in Galen
Hiera picra in Galen · Diatrion piperion in Galen · Peony in Galen · Caterpillar fungus in Galen · everything Galen names →
Drawing on the same sources: Herodotus, Dioscorides, Encyclopaedia Britannica, Wikipedia
Alum · Onion · Ginger · Feverfew · Gum arabic · Tobacco · Goat’s rue · the bibliography →
Of the same qualities: hot and dry
Honey · Galangal · Hyssop · Juniper · Elecampane · what the degrees mean →
Nearby in the alphabet
Ghost pipe · Gamboge (yellow as egg yolk) · Gallia moschata (made into troches of aloeswood, ambergris, and musk) · Ginseng · Galbanum (Gum resin of Ferula gummosa) · Glass powder (Powdered glass)
Historical description, not medical advice.