This study aimed to estimate the effects of increasing doses of Allium ursinum methanol extract on cardiac ischemia/reperfusion injury (I/R) with a special emphasis on the role of oxidative stress. Fifty rats were randomly divided into five groups (10 animals per group) depending on the applied treatment as follows: sham, rats who drank only tap water for 28 days and hearts were retrogradely perfused for 80 min without I/R injury, I/R, rats who drank only tap water for 28 days and hearts were exposed to ex vivo I/R injury and rats who consumed increasing doses of A. ursinum 125, 250, and 500 mg/kg for 28 days before I/R injury. Hearts from all rats were isolated and retrogradely perfused according to the Langendorff technique. Parameters of oxidative stress were spectrophotometrically measured in blood, coronary venous effluent, and heart tissue samples. Intake of wild garlic extract for 28 days significantly contributed to the recovery of cardiac function, which was reflected through preserved cardiac contractility, systolic function, and coronary vasodilatory response after ischemia. Also, wild garlic extract showed the potential to modulate the systemic redox balance and stood out as a powerful antioxidant. The highest dose led to the most efficient decrease in cardiac oxidative stress and improve recovery of myocardial function after I/R injury. We might conclude that wild garlic possesses a significant role in cardioprotection and strong antioxidant activity, which implicates the possibility of its use alone in the prevention or as adjuvant antioxidant therapy in cardiovascular diseases (CVD).

Allium ursinum L. (A. ursinum, family Amaryllidaceae), better known under the name of wild garlic, ramson or bearís garlic is a perennial herbaceous plant. It naturally grows in fens and marshes of Europe and Asia (1-3). Increasingly, popular in European kitchen A. ursinum can be used as a salad, spice or vegetable since all parts of the plant are edible. Throughout history leaves, bulbs and the aerial part of this plant species have been used in traditional medicine as therapeutic and prophylactic agents (4-6). Numerous biologically active compounds enable this plant species to be implemented in the healing of various conditions for years. The most common are sulfur compounds which are considered to largely contribute to the pharmacological activity and from which originates a characteristic smell and taste (7). In addition to a significant presence of phenols, flavonoids, there are in a lesser extent other steroidal glycosides, amino acids, fatty acids, lecithin, essential oil (4, 8, 9). The aforementioned bioactive compounds can be exploited and used in the form of various extracts. Experimental investigations indicate the efficiency of the application A. ursinum in prevention and treatment of many diseases such as cardiovascular diseases, cancer, obesity, diabetes, disorders of the gastrointestinal tract, elevated cholesterol level, as well as the inflammatory diseases (10-14). Itís been known that the applied extraction method and extraction solvent may substantially affect the quality and concentration of targeted com

Allium ursinum L. is a perennial herbaceous plant belonging to the Alliaceae family. Several classes of bioactive compounds have been isolated from A. ursinum so far, among them sulfur and phenolic compounds as quantitatively the most distributed constituents, responsible for pharmaceutical effects of the plant. Small amounts of steroidal glucosides, lecitins, fatty acids and several amino acids, as well as the essential oil are also present in A. ursinum. Th is plant species is characterized by a long history of use in traditional medicine in the prevention and treatment of cardiovascular disease, as digestive stimulant, antimicrobial agent, as a remedy in respiratory problems, insomnia and fainting. Despite its widespread use for medicinal purposes since the ancient time, studies referring to its pharmacological activity are still lacking. In this review, we summarized the current knowledge related to the phytochemical and pharmacological properties of Allium ursinum. Th is study may be a starting point for future researches in this field, which would fully clarify therapeutic potential of A. ursinum and make it a possible candidate for medicinal product.

No abstract

Allium ursinum L. is a perennial herbaceous plant belonging to the Alliaceae family. Several classes of bioactive compounds have been isolated from A. ursinum so far, among them sulfur and phenolic compounds as quantitatively the most distributed constituents, responsible for pharmaceutical eff ects of the plant. Small amounts of steroidal glucosides, lecitins, fatty acids and several amino acids, as well as the essential oil are also present in A. ursinum. This plant species is characterized by a long history of use in traditional medicine in the prevention and treatment of cardiovascular disease, as digestive stimulant, antimicrobial agent, as a remedy in respiratory problems, insomnia and fainting. Despite its widespread use for medicinal purposes since the ancient time, studies referring to its pharmacological activity are still lacking. In this review, we summarized the current knowledge related to the phytochemical and pharmacological properties of Allium ursinum. This study may be a starting point for future researches in this field, which would fully clarify therapeutic potential of A. ursinum and make it a possible candidate for medicinal product.