Garlic ensures better protection than isolated diallyl sulfide against asbestos induced genotoxicity: an in vivo study

Garlic is an established antioxidant, owing its antioxidant property to a number of constituent sulfhydryl compounds, the most important of which is diallyl sulfide (DAS). Garlic and its constituents are known to protect against reactive oxygen species mediated damages by various toxicants including asbestos, a well known carcinogen. Present study is a first attempt to compare potential of crude garlic extract and DAS to protect against asbestos induced genotoxicity in vivo. Female albino rats were exposed to Indian chrysotile asbestos intratracheally. Other groups of rats were exposed to chrysotile and either garlic or diallyl sulfide. We employed the micronucleus and chromosomal aberrations assays in the alveolar macrophages to analyze the genotoxicity of asbestos fibers. Our results indicate that both garlic extract as well as DAS, when administered to rats, significantly reduced genetic damages induced by asbestos, although the protection by garlic extract was much higher than that of DAS. We conclude two important outcomes; first, garlic extract provides more robust protection as compared to any of its isolated constituents and second, the macrophages can be used as a non-invasive tool for genotoxicity assessment after exposure through inhalation.