← All plantsGarlic
Allium sativum
Also: Russian penicillin
WarmingDryingTonifying
A hot, antimicrobial kitchen medicine for lungs and heart.
The pungent bulb of every kitchen. Crushed garlic releases allicin, a sulfur compound that kills bacteria, fungi, and viruses where it touches them; its compounds leave the body through the lungs, and it keeps blood moving and pressure down.
- Energetics
- Hot, drying, tonifying
- Taste
- Pungent, aromatic
- Family
- Amaryllidaceae (onion family)
- Parts used
- Bulb
Medicinal uses 10
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TTraditional useLLab and mechanism studiesCClinical studies
Means fewer, shorter colds with regular use, and works on respiratory infections as its compounds exit through the lungs.
Lowers raised blood pressure.
Improves cholesterol and circulation.
Garlic oil eases ear infections.
Disinfects infected wounds.
A stimulating expectorant for wet chest infections.
The pungent fumes clear congestion.
A circulatory stimulant for cold hands and feet.
Taken daily through winter, garlic cut the number of colds in a small trial.
Garlic tablets taken by mouth cleared bacterial vaginosis about as well as metronidazole in a clinical trial, with fewer side effects.
Preparations
Raw crushed garlic, garlic honey, and fresh garlic oil.
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Cautions
- Large amounts and supplements thin the blood; stop them 7 to 10 days before surgery, and take care with blood thinners.
- Homemade garlic oil can grow botulism; refrigerate it and use it within a few days.
- Raw garlic left on skin can burn, and garlic aggravates hot, red, agitated conditions.
Medication interactions
Practitioner Practitioners are able to see the 2 types of medicine flagged for garlic, each with the mechanism and what to do. The plain-language cautions above stay open to everyone.
Pregnancy & breastfeeding
PregnancyCulinary amounts
Culinary garlic is safe throughout pregnancy. Skip high-dose supplements near delivery because of their blood-thinning effect.
BreastfeedingCulinary amounts
Garlic flavors breast milk. In one study babies nursed longer after their mothers ate it, though a few fuss. Culinary amounts are considered compatible.
Practitioner Practitioners are able to see the full entry from the Moss Herbalism Pregnancy Safety Database: trimester ratings, uterine and placental action, breastfeeding and nursing-baby effects, chemistry, traditional use, studies, and sources.
Folklore
Soviet field medics in the Second World War, short on sulfa drugs, packed wounds with crushed garlic, and it earned the name Russian penicillin; it had dressed wounds in the First World War too. Herodotus wrote that an inscription on the Great Pyramid recorded the radishes, onions, and garlic eaten by its builders. Eastern European folklore set garlic against vampires, a belief Bram Stoker carried into Dracula in 1897.
How to grow
Plant single cloves pointed end up in autumn, 2 inches deep and 6 inches apart, in rich, well-drained soil and full sun. Harvest in early summer when the lower leaves brown, then cure the bulbs somewhere dry and airy for two to three weeks. Hardneck types send up edible scapes in late spring.
In the wild
Unknown as a wild plant; garlic was domesticated in Central Asia. Its wild relatives, ramsons in European woods and ramps in eastern North America, grow slowly, so take one leaf per plant and leave the bulbs.
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