Cited by 165Garlic and Onion StudiesGenomics, phytochemicals, and oxidative stressSulfur Compounds in Biology

The Effects of Allicin, a Reactive Sulfur Species from Garlic, on a Selection of Mammalian Cell Lines

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Gruhlke, Martin, Nicco, Carole, Batteux, Frederic, Slusarenko, Alan·2016·Antioxidants

Abstract

Garlic (Allium sativum L.) has been used as a spice and medicinal plant since ancient times. Garlic produces the thiol-reactive defence substance, allicin, upon wounding. The effects of allicin on human lung epithelium carcinoma (A549), mouse fibroblast (3T3), human umbilical vein endothelial cell (HUVEC), human colon carcinoma (HT29) and human breast cancer (MCF7) cell lines were tested. To estimate toxic effects of allicin, we used a standard MTT-test (methylthiazoltetrazolium) for cell viability and 3H-thymidine incorporation for cell proliferation. The glutathione pool was measured using monobromobimane and the formation of reactive species was identified using 2′,7′-dichlorofluoresceine-diacetate. The YO-PRO-1 iodide staining procedure was used to estimate apoptosis. Allicin reduced cell viability and cell proliferation in a concentration dependent manner. In the bimane test, it was observed that cells treated with allicin showed reduced fluorescence, suggesting glutathione oxidation. The cell lines tested differed in sensitivity to allicin in regard to viability, cell proliferation and glutathione oxidation. The 3T3 and MCF-7 cells showed a higher proportion of apoptosis compared to the other cell types. These data show that mammalian cell lines differ in their sensitivity and responses to allicin.

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  • In 1960, tumor cells were reported to be killed when incubated in an allicin solution.

    “Interestingly, in 1960, tumor cells were reported to be killed when incubated in an allicin solution [63].”
  • Allicin is a membrane-permeable compound that can enter cells easily and interact with cellular thiols such as glutathione or cysteine residues in proteins as well as enzymes containing reactive cysteine, and this may be the potential interpretation of allicin's toxicity.

    “Allicin is a membrane-permeable compound that can enter cells easily and interact with cellular thiols such as glutathione or cysteine residues in proteins [37,89,90] as well as enzymes containing reactive cysteine and this may be the potential interpretation of allicin’s toxicity [63].”

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Authors
Gruhlke, M., Nicco, C., Batteux, F., & Slusarenko, A.
Affiliations
  • RWTH Aachen University (DE)
  • Hôpital Cochin (FR)
  • Laboratoire d’Immunologie biologique, Hôpital Cochin, Paris 75679, France
Corresponding author
Gruhlke, Martin
Venue
Antioxidants
Publisher
MDPI AG
Published
2016-12-26
Volume
6
Issue
1
Pages
1
ISSN
2076-3921 (ISSN-L)
OpenAlex
W2562413929
Cited by
165
References
65
Citations by year
2026: 8 · 2025: 13 · 2024: 18 · 2023: 12 · 2022: 16 · 2021: 32 · 2020: 21 · 2019: 21 · 2018: 14 · 2017: 10
FWCI
17.57
Type
journal article
Language
en
Open access
Locations
  • Antioxidants (publishedVersion, cc-by)
  • PubMed Central (publishedVersion, cc-by)
  • PubMed (publishedVersion)
  • DOAJ (DOAJ: Directory of Open Access Journals) (submittedVersion)
  • RWTH Publications (RWTH Aachen) (submittedVersion, other-oa)
  • RWTH Publications (RWTH Aachen)
Funders
  • European Commission (215009)
  • RWTH Aachen University
Topics
  • Life Sciences › Agricultural and Biological Sciences › Plant Science › Garlic and Onion Studies
  • Life Sciences › Biochemistry, Genetics and Molecular Biology › Molecular Biology › Genomics, phytochemicals, and oxidative stress
  • Life Sciences › Biochemistry, Genetics and Molecular Biology › Biochemistry › Sulfur Compounds in Biology
Keywords
allicin, garlic, reactive sulfur species, cell viability, cell proliferation, glutathione oxidation, apoptosis, A549 cells, 3T3 fibroblasts, human umbilical vein endothelial cells, HT-29 cells, MCF-7 cells, cytotoxicity, cell line sensitivity

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