title: Antiplatelet activity of Allium ursinum and Allium sativum.
abstract: OBJECTIVE
  Garlic (Allium sativum) has a well-established reputation as a protective agent against cardiovascular disease, while nearly nothing is known about its cousin Allium ursinum. The aim of this study was to evaluate the antiaggregatory mechanism of garlic and to compare the effects of A. ursinum and A. sativum.
  
  
  METHODS
  In a prospective study, extracts were prepared from A. sativum powder made from fresh A. sativum bulbs and fresh A. ursinum leaves by maceration. The extracts were characterized by thin layer chromatography. Their in vitro effects on human platelet aggregation were examined by light transmission aggregometry after induction by adenosine diphosphate (ADP), collagen, A23187, epinephrine and arachidonic acid (ARA) in platelets from healthy volunteers.
  
  
  RESULTS
  A. ursinum and A. sativum exert similar antiaggregatory effects: they inhibit platelet aggregation induced via the ADP pathway and to a lesser extent aggregation induced by epinephrine, whereas ARA-, collagen- and A23187-induced aggregation was not affected. It became clear that the alcoholic extract of A. ursinum is the potent form, while the aqueous extract exerted an unspecific activity. The effects were strictly dose related. A. ursinum and A. sativum extracts exhibited similar potencies.
  
  
  CONCLUSIONS
  Both A. ursinum and A. sativum exert antiaggregatory effects. Garlic extracts are acting by inhibition of the ADP pathway; their mechanisms of action are comparable to that of the clinically used drug clopidogrel. The pharmacologically active component of the extracts appears to be lipophilic rather than hydrophilic, but the precise chemical substance is still unknown. This is the first report on the antiplatelet activity of A. ursinum.
authors.affiliation: Department of Cardiac Surgery, Heart Center, University of Leipzig, Leipzig, Germany.
authors.forename: Bahi
authors.initials: B
authors.lastname: Hiyasat
authors.forename: Dina
authors.initials: D
authors.lastname: Sabha
authors.forename: Kristina
authors.initials: K
authors.lastname: Grotzinger
authors.forename: Joerg
authors.initials: J
authors.lastname: Kempfert
authors.forename: Johann-Wilhelm
authors.initials: JW
authors.lastname: Rauwald
authors.forename: Friedrich-Wilhelm
authors.initials: FW
authors.lastname: Mohr
authors.forename: Stefan
authors.initials: S
authors.lastname: Dhein
mesh_terms: D000244:Adenosine Diphosphate / Q000494:pharmacology; D000328:Adult; D000490:Allium / Q000737:chemistry*; D016718:Arachidonic Acid / Q000494:pharmacology; D000001:Calcimycin / Q000494:pharmacology; D003094:Collagen / Q000494:pharmacology; D004305:Dose-Response Relationship, Drug; D004837:Epinephrine / Q000494:pharmacology; D005260:Female; D005737:Garlic / Q000737:chemistry*; D006801:Humans; D066298:In Vitro Techniques; D008297:Male; D010936:Plant Extracts / Q000494:pharmacology*; D010974:Platelet Aggregation / Q000187:drug effects*; D010975:Platelet Aggregation Inhibitors / Q000494:pharmacology*
chemical_list: D010936:Plant Extracts; D010975:Platelet Aggregation Inhibitors; D016718:Arachidonic Acid; D000001:Calcimycin; D000244:Adenosine Diphosphate; D003094:Collagen; D004837:Epinephrine