Bialik loved him

Weizmann Institute scientists recently discovered the molecular mechanism that gives garlic its ability to act against infectious inflammations, and against the development of heart diseases and other disorders

When the national poet Haim Nachman Bialik spoke and wrote about General Shum, he probably knew what he was talking about. The institute's scientists, who followed this enlightenment, as well as following Chinese and other customs, recently discovered the molecular mechanism that gives garlic its ability to act against infectious inflammations, and against the development of heart diseases and other disorders. The discovery was made possible after the scientists developed an original biotechnological system through which they were able to produce large quantities of the main active ingredient in garlic, allicin.

The researchers, Prof. David Mirelman, who serves as the vice president of the Institute for Technological Applications, and Prof. Meir Wilchek, who serves as the dean of the Faculty of Biochemistry, discovered that allicin inhibits and neutralizes two enzymes that are essential for bacteria, fungi, and various viruses. These enzymes (cysteine ​​proteinase and alcohol dehydrogenase), are essential for the life processes of parasites that cause many different diseases. Neutralization by allicin causes the death of the parasites and, as a result, also the inhibition of the development of diseases, infections and inflammatory processes. This discovery may lead, among other things, to the use of allicin as a medicine against bacteria that have developed resistance to various antibiotic drugs.

Later, the researchers discovered how allicin inhibits and neutralizes the enzymes. It turns out that allicin performs a chemical reaction that changes the structures of certain components (called "SH groups") in the enzyme molecules. As a result, the enzymes lose their activity capacity, and the allicin molecule is no longer "what it used to be": it too has undergone a change that deprives it of the possibility to return and perform this reaction once more. In other words, allicin is able to perform this reaction only once. He performs it - and ceases to exist in his original form.

Since "SH groups" are also essential for the activity of enzymes that participate in the process of cholesterol formation, it seems that the allicin found in garlic (which, as mentioned, damages the "SH groups"), may also prevent the formation and accumulation of cholesterol on the walls of blood vessels (a process that may lead to for the development of heart diseases and various disorders). Allicin's ability to act in this field is now being tested in a study conducted by Weizmann Institute scientists in collaboration with doctors and researchers from the Heart Institute of the Sheba Medical Center in Tel Hashomer.

The institute's scientists also confirmed that allicin prevents oxidation processes carried out by substances from the group of free radicals. These substances cause changes in many molecules in the body, which may cause, among other things, the development of cancerous tumors.

The dark side of allicin

With all the positive properties of allicin, the institute's scientists say that under certain conditions it may cause damage, by inhibiting and neutralizing the "SH groups" contained in the molecules of various enzymes that are essential for the normal activities of various cells in the human body. These cells are able to overcome this difficulty using a natural substance found in them, called glutathione, which cancels the action of allicin. This substance is found in the cells of the human body, but is usually almost absent in bacteria and fungi, which leaves them exposed to the damage of allicin.

To provide the amounts of allicin required for these studies, the institute's scientists developed an original way to produce semi-synthetic allicin. The natural allicin is created when garlic is chopped or crushed, in the process of a chemical reaction between a substance called allein and the enzyme allein (both contained in garlic). Institute scientists artificially produced large amounts of allein, and then created a chemical reaction between it and a stable version of the enzyme allein. The allicin produced in this way can be preserved and stored for a long time, without losing its effectiveness. The natural allicin, on the other hand, "disappears" shortly after it is created, because in the natural environment it reacts with various substances, neutralizes them and thereby "wastes" its one-time "right of action".

The "Yade" company, which deals with the application of the results of the research of Weizmann Institute of Science scientists, submitted an application for a patent for the new method for producing pure, semi-synthetic allicin.

Garlic with everything

In the bodies of people who have eaten garlic, antibodies are created that can function as "thieves' keys" that fit different substances (in and out of the human body). This is the first time that antibodies with such properties appear to be produced as a result of eating. The research was carried out by Prof. Meir Wilchek and Prof. David Mirelman from the Department of Membrane Research and Biophysics at the Weizmann Institute of Science in Rehovot.

An antibody is a kind of "key" that usually fits only one "lock". This unique adaptation is one of the main features of the body's immune system (thanks to it the antibodies can identify, stick to and neutralize "marked" targets such as foreign invaders, pollutants and various disease agents). Why, then, does the body produce antibodies that are suitable for a large variety of substances? What use can the body make of these "thieves' keys"? How widespread is the "thieves' keys" phenomenon? These questions are at the center of the researchers' current research.

In these studies, the researchers used the affinity chromatography method, a technique for identifying and separating substances developed by Prof. Meir Wilchek. This method is in fact the basis of all modern biotechnology, and it earned Prof. Wilchek the Wolf Prize and the Israel Prize for Biotechnology in 1992. Prof. David Mirelman is the vice president of the Weizmann Institute for Technological Applications.