Researchers have cracked the mystery of why eating garlic can help keep the heart healthy.
The key is allicin, which is broken down into the foul-smelling sulphur compounds which taint breath.
These compounds react with red blood cells and produce hydrogen sulphide which relaxes the blood vessels, and keeps blood flowing easily.
The University of Alabama at Birmingham research appears in Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences.
The Alabama team bathed rat blood vessels in a bath containing juice from crushed garlic.
This produced striking results - with tension within the vessels reduced by 72%.
The researchers also found that red blood cells exposed to minute amounts of juice extracted from supermarket garlic immediately began emitting hydrogen sulphide.
The researchers suggest that hydrogen sulphide production in red blood cells could be used to standardise dietary garlic supplements.
The key is allicin, which is broken down into the foul-smelling sulphur compounds which taint breath.
These compounds react with red blood cells and produce hydrogen sulphide which relaxes the blood vessels, and keeps blood flowing easily.
The University of Alabama at Birmingham research appears in Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences.
The Alabama team bathed rat blood vessels in a bath containing juice from crushed garlic.
This produced striking results - with tension within the vessels reduced by 72%.
The researchers also found that red blood cells exposed to minute amounts of juice extracted from supermarket garlic immediately began emitting hydrogen sulphide.
The researchers suggest that hydrogen sulphide production in red blood cells could be used to standardise dietary garlic supplements.
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