Wild garlic leaf extract calms gut inflammation in lab tests
Di Simone SC, Gabriele M, Acquaviva A, Tunali F, Chiavaroli A
Medicinal Plants
If you forage wild garlic in spring woodlands or grow it under trees in a shady garden bed, this study suggests those leaves carry sulfur compounds and polyphenols that may soothe the gut, though only lab tissue has been tested so far.
Wild garlic, also called ramsons or bear's garlic, has long been eaten in Europe for stomach health. Researchers made leaf extracts with water and with water-alcohol mixes and tested them on mouse colon tissue exposed to a bacterial toxin. The half-alcohol extract was richest in plant antioxidants and dialed down three key inflammation genes, but it hasn't been tested in living animals or people yet.
Key Findings
Extracts were dominated by sulfur-containing compounds, mainly methiin and alliin; water extracts were rich in sugars, amino acids and organic acids, while hydroalcoholic extracts concentrated polyphenols.
Hydroalcoholic extracts showed the strongest antioxidant (DPPH, ABTS, CUPRAC, FRAP) and enzyme inhibitory activity (α-glucosidase, α-amylase, tyrosinase, cholinesterases), correlating with total phenolic and flavonoid content.
The 50% hydroalcoholic extract significantly reduced LPS-induced expression of IL-6, COX-2 and iNOS in isolated mouse colon tissue ex vivo.
chevron_right Technical Summary
Wild garlic (ramsons) leaves from Italy's Apennine mountains contain compounds that calmed inflammation in mouse colon tissue in the lab. A 50% alcohol-water extract worked best, lending support to the plant's long use as a gut-friendly food.
Abstract Preview
Original paper
Allium ursinum L. from the apennine flora: a phytoalimurgic resource for modulating gut inflammation.
Allium ursinum L. is a perennial herbaceous plant widely distributed across Europe and Asia. Its leaves are traditionally consumed as food and used in folk medicine, particularly for gastrointestin...
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Allium ursinum, known as wild garlic, ramsons, cowleekes, cows's leek, cowleek, buckrams, broad-leaved garlic, wood garlic, bear leek, Eurasian wild garlic, onion grass, or bear's garlic, is a bulbous perennial flowering plant in the amaryllis family, Amaryllidaceae. It is native to Eurasia, wher...