Answer:
Explanation:
Corn is a monoecious plant, a hermaphrodite, where both the male and female reproductive parts are present in the same plant. Reproduction is carried out sexually. It is wind-pollinated. ... Successively, male sex cells move down each silk to meet a single egg after which fertilization takes place.
1. Introduction
Garlic is widely used around the world for its pungent flavour as a seasoning or condiment. From the history, it is known that garlic has been used for more than 7,000 years by humans. Originally the plant was native to central Asia [1], but it has long been used for consumption (raw or cooked) as seasoning in many other parts of the world such as the Mediterranean region, Africa, and Europe. It has specifically been used for its medicinal purposes in ancient Egypt. [2].
The garlic plant's bulb is the most commonly used part of the plant. As mentioned, garlic or more specifically the cloves is believed to have many medicinal properties ranging from positively affecting anything such as high blood pressure (BP) and lowering cholesterol to using it as a treatment for the common cold [3]. Even Hippocrates, Galen, and Dioscorides all mention the use of garlic for many conditions, including parasites, respiratory problems, poor digestion, and low energy [4].
Plants have always been the sources of important medicines since time immemorial. Currently there is a huge movement and emphasis towards scientifically and clinically unlocking the value of traditional phytomedicines in the service of humanity. With this in mind the scope of this chapter is to investigate garlic’s effects on human health with special reference to the effect on the reproductive system. The chapter will furthermore aim to explain the mechanisms via which garlic can exert its effect.
2. Garlic: Overview and properties
Allium sativum, or commonly known as garlic, is a vegetable species that can be classified as either a food or a medicinal herb. It is a widely used plant product that is cultivated all over the world. Garlic falls into a family of Amaryllidaceae or the genus Allium. Its closest relatives in the onion genus include the onion, shallot, leek, rakkyo and chive [4].
The bulbs are mainly composed of water (approximately 84.09%), organic matter (13.38%) and inorganic matter (1.53%). The leaves consist of more or less the same components with slightly different ratios (water 87.14%, organic matter 11.27% and inorganic matter 1.59%) [5, 6].
The organic matter is mostly carbohydrates while the inorganic matter is compounds such as sulphur and iron. The large number of sulfur compounds contributes to the smell and taste of garlic. Allicin has been found to be the compound most responsible for the "hot" sensation of raw garlic (RG) [7]. Allicin, along with its decomposition products diallyl disulphide and diallyl trisulphide, are major contributors to the characteristic odour of garlic, while other allicin-derived compounds, such as vinyldithiins and ajoene show beneficial in vitro biological activity [4].
Despite having a minimal amount of ions and other compounds, those that are present play a very important role in the composition and overall beneficial effects that garlic potentially possesses [8].
properties while the black fermented garlic is more commonly used for cooking. Garlic can further be divided into two main subspecies being Ophioscorodon or hard necked garlic and Sativum or soft necked garlic [12]. Garlic can often be found in 4 forms namely; RG homogenate, garlic powder, aged garlic extract (AGE) and garlic oil.
The RG homogenate is prepared by collecting garlic cloves and removing several outer layers. The cloves are then blended with distilled water and left for half an hour at 25ºC. The solution is then filtered and a homogenate sample is obtained [13].
Garlic powder is prepared by pulverising crushed and dehydrated garlic cloves. This is mainly used for cooking purposes.
