Re: Was garlic used in binding wounds in World War I?

Not only was it used in World War 1, it is supposed to be the 2nd oldest 
medicine. Check out the following referenced articles.

Mars owns this herb. This was anciently accounted the poor man's treacle, 
it being a remedy for all diseases and hurts (except those which itself 
breed)...Its heat is very vehement...; therefore let it be taken inwardly 
with great moderation; outwardly you may make more bold with it."  
  
Culpeper 	
Garlic is generally considered to be the world's second oldest medicine 
(after ephedra). Evidence of garlic has been found in caves estimated to 
have been inhabited more than 10,000 years ago, and prescriptions of the 
plant were found chiseled into a clay Sumerian tablet that was more than 
3,000 years old. The entire ancient world loved garlic - particularly the 
Egyptians, who used to swear on garlic in much the same way as we swear on 
the Bible today. Egyptian slaves were given a daily ration of garlic, as 
it was generally believed to ward off illness and to increase strength and 
endurance. During the reign of King Tut, fifteen pounds of garlic would 
buy a healthy male slave. Indeed, when King Tuts tomb was excavated, there 
were bulbs of garlic found scattered throughout the rooms. Garlic was a 
prominent inclusion in the world's oldest surviving medical text(1), and 
when Moses led the Hebrew slaves out of Egypt (around 1,200BC), they 
complained of missing the finer things in life - fish, cucumbers, melons, 
leeks, onions, and garlic. The Greeks had ideas of their own on the 
virtues of garlic(2). Greek athletes would take copious amounts of garlic 
before competition, and Greek soldiers would consume garlic before going 
into battle. It became custom for Greek midwives to hang garlic cloves in 
birthing rooms to keep the evil spirits away. As the centuries passed, 
this ancient custom became commonplace in most European homes. Hippocrates 
(300BC) recommended garlic for infections, wounds, cancer, leprosy, and 
digestive disorders. Dioscorides praised it for its use in treating heart 
problems, and Pliny listed the plant in 61 remedies for a wide variety of 
ailments ranging from the common cold to leprosy, epilepsy and tapeworm.
 
During World War 1, the Russian army used garlic to treat wounds incurred 
by soldiers on the Front Line. Although Alexander Flemming's discovery of 
penicillin in 1928 largely replaced garlic at home, the war effort 
overwhelmed the capacity of most antibiotics, and garlic was again the 
antibiotic of choice. The Red Army physicians relied so heavily on garlic 
that it became known as the "Russian Penicillin". Contemporary herbalists 
recommend garlic for a wide variety of pathological conditions including 
elevated cholesterol, colds, flu, coughs, bronchitis, fever, ringworm and 
intestinal worms, and liver, gallbladder, and digestive problems. 
References

1.	The Ebers Papyrus

2.	In Homer's Odyssey, Ulysses ate garlic and found it gave him 
strength against the sorceress, Circe.

		The Politics of Plants
 	Ancient Garlic
	Did You Know?
	Quotable Quotes
	Romance and Folklore 
	Horse Racing Legacy  
  GarlicCulpeper*
www.nutraceuticalalliance.com/folklore_garlic.htm

Garlic

Allium sativum

Adrienne Drapkin, Director

Peer Review Status: Not peer reviewed 

 

Name, Habitat and Appearance 
Garlic is a member of the Liliaceae family, which also includes the onion. 
The plants in this family are noted for their penetrating, pungent odor. 
Common varieties of Garlic are: Crow Garlic, Ramson's, Field Garlic and 
the best known, Common Garlic. The name is Anglo-Saxon. It describes the 
long, narrow spear-like shape of the leaves. Gar (a spear) and lac (a 
plant). The bulb consists of several smaller sections known as cloves. 
These are used for medicinal and dietary purposes.
 
In a treatise entitled The Origin of Cultivated Plants, Swiss botanist de 
Candolle suggested that garlic was native to Southwest Siberia, gradually 
spreading southward. Many believe it originated in Central Asia and spread 
rapidly, even to the Americas, in ancient times. 

Gathering and Preparation 
Garlic is cultivated in narrow rows. It is usually planted in very early 
spring and harvested in August and September. The pungent odor perfumes 
the air for miles around when large fields are harvested.
 
Legends and Folklore 

Few plants have more legends than Garlic. A Mohammedan legend related 
that "when Satan stepped out from the Garden of Eden after the fall of 
man, Garlick sprang up from the spot where he placed his left foot, and 
Onion from that where his right foot touched." In Europe, it was believed 
to be protection against the "evil eye" and to make witches and vampires 
disappear at its very sight. Racers who chewed a bit of garlic thought 
they could not be beaten. Hungarian jockeys attached a piece of garlic to 
their horse's bits to prevent the competition from winning. In Bram 
Stoker's Dracula, a doctor strewed the room with garlic and hung a 
necklace of garlic around a woman's throat in the belief that garlic would 
repel vampires. During the Dark Ages, people believed it could ward off 
the plague and wore garlands of it as protection. In fact, as recently as 
1917 and 1918, Americans wore garlic garlands in public during influenza 
epidemics.
 
History 

The Egyptians worshipped it. It was fed to the laborers who built the 
Great Pyramid of Giza about 3000 B.C.E. An inscription on the pyramid 
states the exact cost of the garlic, radishes and onions consumed during 
its construction. The Greeks detested it. The Romans ate it with delight. 
It was included in the rations of Roman soldiers to make them strong and 
heroic. Galen (2nd century C.E.) used it as an antidote to poisons. Pliny 
the Elder said it was good for toothache, ulcer and asthma-not to mention 
stimulating to sexual and gustatory appetites. Mohammed, prophet of Islam, 
extolled its use for scorpion and snake bites. In Shakespeare's time, the 
smell of garlic was considered vulgar. It has been used as a diaphoretic, 
diuretic, expectorant and stimulant. Alexander Neckham, a 12th century 
writer, claimed it relieved heat exhaustion in field laborers. It was also 
thought to prevent anthrax in cattle. Garlic has been used to fight 
leprosy, smallpox and the plague. During World War I, garlic was in much 
demand as a natural antiseptic; garlic juice was diluted with water and 
applied to wounds. Syrup of garlic is believed to combat asthma, 
hoarseness, coughs, difficulty of breathing and other disorders of the 
lungs. Eleanor Roosevelt was said to take 3 chocolate-covered garlic pills 
each morning on the advice of her doctor in order to improve her memory. 
Today, Gilroy, California calls itself "Garlic Capital of the United 
States." The French Garlic Capital is in Arleaux, north of Paris, in the 
fields where World War I took place. There they produce over 200 million 
pounds of garlic a year. Modern medicine recognizes its antibacterial 
qualities due to its many organic sulfur compounds. Many doctors believe 
in its ability to break down fibrin, possibly reducing the effects of 
heart and blood diseases. Garlic has also been used in cooking throughout 
the world, its distinctive flavor enhancing many foods. 

Historical Uses 
·	To treat wounds, infections and tumors 
·	Intestinal parasites 
·	To lower cholesterol and blood pressure 
·	To stimulate the immune system 
·	To increase T-helper cell activity 
·	Upper respiratory viral infections 
·	To clear mucous from the lungs 
·	Antioxidant

Modern Medicinal Uses 
The Egyptians used garlic to treat wounds, infections, tumors and 
intestinal parasites. Modern scientific research confirms some of these 
ancient uses for garlic. Garlic's sulfur-containing compounds, which lend 
the herb its pungent aroma, are responsible for many of its healing 
properties. Specifically, the compound Allicin inhibits synthesis of fats. 
Allicin has antimicrobial, antiyeast and antifungal properties; it 
inhibits the growth of parasites in the intestines, including amoebas 
which cause dysentery. The compound Allicin can be transformed into 
Ajoene, which has anticlotting properties. Garlic's sulfur compounds, in 
addition to selenium-containing compounds, are also potent antioxidants 
http://www.uihealthcare.com/PatientsVisitors/MedMuseum/NaturesPharm
acy/GarlicPlant/Garlic.html



June Wingert
Associate Scientist
Lexicon Genetics
Texas