The common kitchen herb, the garlic - Allium Sativum to botanists - is a familiar herb and culinary spice. At different times throughout history it has been said that the garlic is an herb that only the prince of hell himself could enjoy the aroma of full time with nary a complaint. Studies revealed that garlic has been found to have antibacterial, antiviral, and antifungal activity.

One may find it hard to connect the humble garlic with increasing the efficiency of insulin, but research by a team of scientists from the Hyderabad-based Indian Institute of Chemical Technology (IICT) has revealed that raw garlic is the best natural medicine for type 2 diabetes.

Our work is interesting as it recommends diabetics to consume raw garlic to reduce insulin resistance Dr Sanjay K. Banerjee, scientist, division of pharmacology, Indian Institute of Chemical Technology, said. Stating that type 2 diabetes mellitus, characterised by peripheral insulin resistance, is a major lifestyle disorder of the 21st century, Dr Sanjay said it is for the first time that studies have been conducted to evaluate the effect of raw garlic on insulin resistance or type 2 diabetes mellitus.

The IICT-CSIR study showed that reduction of body weight gain after garlic consumption could be responsible for improving insulin sensitivity in type 2 diabetes.

Dr Sanjay’s team comprised Mr Raju Padiya, Mr Tarak N. Khatua, Mr Pankaj K. Bagul and Ms Madhusudana Kuncha. They selected male Sprague Dawley rats and divided into three groups. One of the groups was fed with fructose as well as raw garlic for eight weeks. The rats fed with raw garlic showed significantly reduced serum glucose, insulin, triglyceride and uric acid levels, as well as insulin resistance. Allicin is the major bioactive compound in raw garlic paste. When garlic is chopped or crushed, allinase enzyme, present in garlic, is activated and acts on alliin (present in intact garlic) to produce allicin.