Garlic is an incredibly versatile vegetable. It can add flavor and aroma to virtually any dish, repel vampires (especially handy this time of year), and as it turns out, it can even help treat prostate cancer.
That’s what a team of Spanish researchers claim. In the lab, they have found that fermented black garlic extract has a protective effect that can help combat inflammation and the progression of prostate cancer.
Any development that could help against the progression of prostate cancer is big news, especially if the source of the treatment is relatively common and accessible. In Spain, prostate cancer is the third leading cause of cancer death in men.
But first things first – for the uninitiated, what is fermented black garlic extract? Simply put, fermented black garlic is white garlic that has been aged and fermented until the cloves turn black. The extract is then obtained from the black garlic.
Recently black garlic has been gaining recognition for its health benefits, most of which are related to a compound called melanoidin that becomes active once the garlic is aged. The health benefits associated with black garlic range from anti-inflammatory properties to immune system support, among a host of others.
One of the primary challenges in treating prostate cancer is that once it has metastasized, it is no longer curable and systemic treatments are largely used to prolong survival to the greatest extent possible. For advanced prostate cancers such as castration-resistant cancer, for example, there are few drugs available that offer effective treatment.
Enter black garlic.
In a study conducted on human prostate cancer cell models in the laboratory, a team of researchers at the University of Cordoba and Maimónides Biomedical Research Institute (IMIBIC) in Spain tested the protective effect of a fermented black garlic extract against inflammation and the progression of prostate cancer.
“We tested the extract in different human prostate cancer cell models, and found that it was capable of reducing various tumor aggressiveness parameters, including cell proliferation,” said researcher Antonio Montero in a news release. “We also found that it did not affect normal prostate cells.”
These findings suggest that the fermented black garlic extract could be given to patients as a dietary supplement without harming healthy prostate cells.
“Everything indicates that this compound could be a very good option to avert some of the adverse events that occur in patients who are going to progress to a more complex and aggressive stage of prostate cancer,” said Raúl Luque, the study’s principal investigator.
Three cheers for garlic! Well, maybe after a breath mint or two.
