Phytochemical Alliin Balances the Ratio of Free Radicals and Antioxidants Levels

By Kyle J. Norton

Oxidative stress is a medical condition caused by a long-term imbalance of the ratio of free radicals and antioxidants in the body.

In other words, overexpression of free radicals and depletion of antioxidant enzymes produced by the host body are the most common cause of oxidative stress.

Oxidative stress occurs when the abundant and unstable free radicals start a chain reaction by stealing or donating their unpaired electrons in the outermost ring to stable atoms, leading to a cascade that cannot be stopped until all electrons are paired or inhibited by antioxidant.

Oxidative stress is dealy to oxidized protein, lipid and cause cell damage that have been linking to chronic diseases such as cardiovascular disease, diabetes, and cancer.

Certain risk factors such as unhealthy lifestyle such as smoking, an unhealthy diet with fewer fruits and vegetables, certain medical conditions such as chronic inflammatory disease and environmental factors such as pollution and radiation have linked to the onset of oxidative stress.

Believe it or not, people with a weakened immune system are more prone to oxidative stress compared to a healthy individual. Therefore, intake of antioxidants from the dietary sources may be necessary.

Dr. JA Knight in the investigation of free radicals, antioxidants, and immune system wrote, " oxidative stress may be detrimental in acquired immunity by activation of nuclear factor kappa B, which governs gene expression involving various cytokines, chemokines, and cell adhesion molecules, among others"

And "antioxidant supplementation essentially reverses several age-associated immune deficiencies, resulting in increased levels of interleukin-2, elevated numbers of total lymphocytes and T-cell subsets, enhanced mitogen responsiveness, increased killer cell activity, augmented antibody response to antigen stimulation, decreased lipid peroxidation, and decreased prostaglandin synthesis".

Alliin (S-allyl-L-cysteine-S-oxide) is a phytochemical compound sulfoxide,. a derivative of the amino acid cysteine, belonging to the class of sulfur compounds, found abundantly in fresh garlic and onion.

With an aim to find a potential compound for the treatment of diseases associated with oxidative stress, scientists investigated the effects of garlic active compounds, diallyl disulfide (DADS), diallyl sulfide (DAS) and alliin against Dengue virus (DENV).

Based on the tested assays, alliin reduced inflammation and affected the oxidative stress response by blocking the immune system response involved in the production of pro-inflammatory cytokines against the oxidative stress.

Furthermore, in cancer cells, pretreatment of alliin exerted a toxic effect on several mammalian cells in vitro in a dose-dependent manner.

In other words, alliin demonstrated significant cytotoxicity against cancer cells by killing them before they can reproduce.

More precisely, alliin-induced cancer cell apoptosis by increasing caspase-3 expression, DNA fragmentation, cell cycle arrest, ROS generation, GSH depletion.

The findings suggested that alliin modulated oxidative stress (the production of antioxidant and free radicals) depending on the body needs without causing harm to the healthy cells.

Taken altogether, alliin may be considered supplements for the prevention and treatment of diseases associated with oxidative stress, depending on the confirmation of the larger sample size and multicenter human study.

Intake of alliin in the form of supplement should be taken with extreme care to prevent overdose acute liver toxicity.

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Author Biography
Kyle J. Norton (Scholar, Master of Nutrition, All right reserved)
Health article writer and researcher; Over 10.000 articles and research papers have been written and published online, including worldwide health, ezine articles, article base, health blogs, self-growth, best before it's news, the karate GB daily, etc.,.
Named TOP 50 MEDICAL ESSAYS FOR ARTISTS & AUTHORS TO READ by Disilgold.com Named 50 of the best health Tweeters Canada - Huffington Post
Nominated for shorty award over last 4 years
Some articles have been used as references in medical research, such as international journal Pharma and Bioscience, ISSN 0975-6299.

Sources
(1) In situ allicin generation using targeted alliinase delivery for inhibition of MIA PaCa-2 cells via epigenetic changes, oxidative stress and cyclin-dependent kinase inhibitor (CDKI) expression by Chhabria SV1, Akbarsha MA, Li AP, Kharkar PS, Desai KB. (PubMed)
(2) Garlic Organosulfur Compounds Reduce Inflammation and Oxidative Stressduring Dengue Virus Infection by Hall A1, Troupin A2, Londono-Renteria B3, Colpitts TM4. (PubMed)
(3) Review: Free radicals, antioxidants, and the immune system by JA Knight. (Annual of Clinical & Laboratory Science)