Abstract
Allicin (diallylthiosulfinate) is a defence molecule from garlic (Allium sativum L.) with a broad range of biological activities. Allicin is produced upon tissue damage from the non-proteinogenic amino acid alliin (S-allylcysteine sulfoxide) in a reaction that is catalyzed by the enzyme alliinase. Current understanding of the allicin biosynthetic pathway will be presented in this review. Being a thiosulfinate, allicin is a reactive sulfur species (RSS) and undergoes a redox-reaction with thiol groups in glutathione and proteins that is thought to be essential for its biological activity. Allicin is physiologically active in microbial, plant and mammalian cells. In a dose-dependent manner allicin can inhibit the proliferation of both bacteria and fungi or kill cells outright, including antibiotic-resistant strains like methicillin-resistant Staphylococcus aureus (MRSA). Furthermore, in mammalian cell lines, including cancer cells, allicin induces cell-death and inhibits cell proliferation. In plants allicin inhibits seed germination and attenuates root-development. The majority of allicin’s effects are believed to be mediated via redox-dependent mechanisms. In sub-lethal concentrations, allicin has a variety of health-promoting properties, for example cholesterol- and blood pressure-lowering effects that are advantageous for the cardio-vascular system. Clearly, allicin has wide-ranging and interesting applications in medicine and (green) agriculture, hence the detailed discussion of its enormous potential in this review. Taken together, allicin is a fascinating biologically active compound whose properties are a direct consequence of the molecule’s chemistry.
Highlights
Allicin, a sulfur-containing natural compound with many different biological properties is responsible for the typical smell and taste of freshly cut or crushed garlic
It was found that the active principles of Allium sativum, Erythronium americanum, Asarum reflexum, Arctium minus, Ranunculus acris, Ranunculus bulbosus and of Brassica species as well as the non-plant-derived antibiotics penicillin, citrinin, gliotoxin, clavacin and pyocyanines react with cysteine
Since allicin is easy to obtain from freshly damaged garlic tissue, applications in that direction would allow a plant-protection strategy according to the maxim “grow your own pesticide”
Summary
A sulfur-containing natural compound with many different biological properties is responsible for the typical smell and taste of freshly cut or crushed garlic. While the pharmaceutical industry in recent decades has largely focused on high-throughput biochemical screening programmes for the discovery and development of new drugs, the use of natural products for medicinal and antimicrobial purposes is an ancient practice [2]. Other ancient texts like the Egyptian Codex Ebers (Ebers Papyrus), the Greek “magical papyra” and the Chinese Materia Medica are replete with records of the use of plants and plant extracts in medicine [3,4]. Isolated and described the properties of allicin, the compound responsible for garlic's characteristic pungent odour, that researchers gained a clearer insight into the chemical wonder carefully packaged by nature in the composite bulbs of this edible Allium, and began decades of extensive research on allicin, “the heart of garlic” [10]
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