Parts used: Bulb, preferably fresh.

Discription: Garlic's medicinal value is largely in its being a highly volatile essential oil, so precautionary care should be taken in its preparation. Anciently it was used in both healing and nutrition, as it was known to possess a great resource for physical strength and energy. It is a valuable nervine tonic, and is especially useful in lowering hypertension. It is an equalizer of blood circulation, and it is a useful expectorant for all respiratory affections and infections. It has a special affinity for the respiratory tract and beneficially influencing bronchial secretions, though it rapidly diffuses throughout the whole system. The odor is so readily diffusible that when the juice, oil, or other form is applied to the soles of the feet, in seconds it is exhaled by the lungs and detected on the breath. Garlie stimulates the gastric juices and has active carminative properties to correct any fermentive and gaseous conditions in the stomach. It is effective in arresting intestinal putrefaction and infection, while stimulating the healthful growth of the "friendly bacteria." According to one investigator, the oil is composed of sulfides and disulfides which halt the accelerated harmful effects while not harming the healthful organisms. The garlic oil is reportedly so popular in Russian medicine that it is referred to as "Russian penicillin," and the hospitals and clinics use the volatile garlic extracts almost exclusively in the form of vapors and inhalants. The use of garlic as an antiseptic and vulnerary during World War I was sensational; and wherever there is pus, it is a safe and certain remedy. Its anthelmintic properties and action is deadly to round and pin-worms. It also appears to be a powerful agent against tumor formation.