Why do Vampires Avoid Garlic?
An overview of garlic, along with a possible link between the smelly bulb and the supernatural.
*Cover image from vampires.com (yes, really!)
Edit 10.31.2023: A citation for Shang, et al. was missing in the prior version of this article. The citation is now included.
Just like Italian cuisine or someone not trying to get a second date, the vampire mythos is overwhelmed with the stench of garlic.
It’s probably considered one of the best repellents against vampires being one aspect of the mythos has endured over the centuries.
But why exactly would something as simple (and quite possibly overused1) as garlic serve as a detractor against the denizens of the night?
The previous post took a look at some diseases that may explain the vampire mythos. Here, we’ll take a look at some bioactive compounds in garlic and see if there truly is anything to garlic’s ability to ward off the undead by comparing it to some of the diseases discussed previously.
*Note: Be forewarned that this article has become 70% garlic overview and 30% its association with vampires. Please refer to the bottom of the article if your interests lie solely with the association. It appears that even here garlic is overpowering. 🤷♂️
A Bulb Across Time
Throughout history and across many cultures garlic can be found as a staple in medicine, serving as a bulbous panacea of sorts.
One report is provided by Bayan, et al.2 which explains that garlic was probably used for many centuries and across Greece, China, and many other countries:
Garlic (Allium sativum L.) has acquired a reputation in different traditions as a prophylactic as well as therapeutic medicinal plant. Garlic has played important dietary and medicinal roles throughout the history.Some of the earliest references to this medicinal plant were found in Avesta, a collection of Zoroastrian holy writings that was probably compiled during the sixth century BC (Dannesteter, 2003). Garlic has also played as an important medicine to Sumerian and the ancient Egyptians. There is some evidence that during the earliest Olympics in Greece, garlic was fed to the athletes for increasing stamina (Lawson and Bauer, 1998).
Ancient Chinese and Indian medicine recommended garlic to aid respiration and digestion and to treat leprosy and parasitic infestation (Rivlrn, 1998).In the medieval period, garlic was also played an important role in the treatment of different diseases. Avicenna (1988), in his well-known book, Al Qanoon Fil Tib (The Canon of Medicine), recommended garlic as a useful compound in treatment of arthritis, toothache, chronic cough, constipation, parasitic infestation, snake and insect bites, gynecologic diseases, as well as in infectious diseases (as antibiotic).
Different forms of garlic was used including fresh garlic, garlic extract in which garlic was stored in an ethanol solution, and garlic oil.
Black garlic, garlic that has been aged under specific heat and humidity-controlled environments, has been investigated more recently and found to have a much higher nutrient-dense profile than garlic.
Regardless, the fact that garlic has been seen across time and geographical regions speaks of the significance of this plant in many cultures, and its widespread use speaks of many of its health benefits.
Bioactive Compounds in Garlic
Multiple compounds in garlic have been found to be bioactive, with many providing a multitude of health benefits.
Shang, et al.3 explains some of these compounds:
Garlic has a variety of bioactive compounds, including organosulfur compounds, saponins, phenolic compounds, and polysaccharides [2,3,13,14]. The major active components of garlic (Figure 1) are its organosulfur compounds, such as diallyl thiosulfonate (allicin), diallyl sulfide (DAS), diallyl disulfide (DADS), diallyl trisulfide (DATS), E/Z-ajoene, S-allyl-cysteine (SAC), and S-allyl-cysteine sulfoxide (alliin) [15,16,17,18]. […] Moreover, garlic contained more than 20 phenolic compounds, with higher contents than many common vegetables [21]. The main phenolic compound was β-resorcylic acid, followed by pyrogallol, gallic acid, rutin, protocatechuic acid, as well as quercetin [22].
With some of these organosulfur compounds shown below:
One of the most well-researched garlic compounds is Allicin which can be seen in the figure above and will be the focus of this discussion (additional garlic talk may come at some point in the future).
Allicin is part of a class of compounds called volatile organic sulfur-containing compounds, or VOSCs for short, which are a group of sulfur compounds that readily aerosolize and provide some of the pungent odors to foods.
Allicin is released when fresh garlic is cut and serves as the primary source of that pungent garlicky odor.
This biochemical process is carried out in an interesting manner. Allicin doesn’t appear to be readily found in garlic, but instead the mechanical cutting/lysing of cells may allow precursors and enzymes to interact and produce Allicin.
Evidence suggests that Allicin is stored in the precursor form of Alliin within the cytosol of garlic cells. Cut garlic releases the enzyme Alliinase from the cell’s vacuoles which then comes in contact with the cytosolic Alliin and metabolizes it to form Allicin.
Not only is Allicin volatile, it is also able to cross cell membranes very readily and is likely the reason why the smell of garlic lingers on your hands.
This method of Allicin production may be rooted in evolution. It’s believed that Allicin acts as a defense mechanism for garlic, such that this compound deters insects and animals, and may even have some antibacterial properties.4
Some of this antibacterial work first appeared in the 1940s, and since then various studies have shown a broad-spectrum utility in Allicin and may account for its use across many cultures. More importantly, it appears to be Allicin itself, and not many of its other metabolites or precursors that provides much of this antibiotic activity (Borlinghaus et al, 20145, emphasis mine):
Isolation and testing of the organosulfur compounds from garlic for antimicrobial activity was carried out in the 1940s [9]. Neither DADS [diallyl disulfide], directly formed by the decomposition of allicin, nor the diallylpolysulfanes showed any remarkable antimicrobial activity, unless used in very high concentrations.
[…]
The fact that DADS, as one of allicin’s direct decomposition products, has a significantly lower antimicrobial activity indicates that the thiosulfinate-group (Scheme 2) plays an important role in that activity since it is lost during the reduction of allicin to DADS. Small et al. [38] considered thiosulfinates as “a new class of compounds of which the antibacterial agent of garlic [allicin] represents the prototype” and chemically synthesized different thiosulfinates, including allicin itself.
From this, it’s assumed that Allicin’s antimicrobial properties is derived from the thiosulfinate group6 which is a strong oxidant and may interact with the thiol groups of bacterial enzymes and proteins.
The formation of disulfide groups here is similar to some proposed mechanisms of Glutathione (GSH) and it’s assumed that Allicin may result in misfolded and inactive protein structures.
One proposal, as outlined by Borlinghaus et al, 2014, can be seen below showing the formation of disulfide bonds between Allicin and bacterial proteins:
This proposed mechanism is interesting, as Allicin being an oxidant means that it would operate opposite that of GSH. It’s actually been proposed that Allicin may deplete GSH levels.
This effect is buffered by the fact that Allicin has been argued to also be antioxidative in nature, and that complexes formed with GSH may actually serve as another bioactive form of Allicin.
However, when it comes to herbal therapeutics and bioactive compounds, one critical concern is the bioavailability of the compound being examined.
It’s worth noting that Allicin is extremely susceptible to heat and that cooking garlic removes most Allicin as it is converted to other compounds. Therefore, raw garlic may be a better option for Allicin, although if consumed would deplete Allicin levels as well through metabolism (Borlinghaus, et al, 20217):
Cooking garlic quickly destroys any allicin. On heating, allicin spontaneously decomposes to 2-propenesulfenic acid and 2-propenethial (thioacrolein) which react further to produce alkyl disulfides, polysulfanes, vinyl dithiins, and ajoene [21,22]. Many of these compounds are physiologically active in their own right, but when considering garlic in the diet as a source of allicin, only raw garlic counts. Under the acidic conditions in the stomach allicin hydrolyzes rapidly to 2-propenethiol (PT), which is metabolized to allyl methyl sulfide (AMS). Both PT and AMS are excreted in the urine and are recognizable in the unpleasant “garlic breath”, which often makes consumers of garlic unpopular amongst those who have not similarly participated [93,94,95,96].
Remember that our use of herbs and plants may differ from their original, evolutionary purpose. Cutaneous damage to plants may be attenuated by release of Allicin and its anitmicrobial properties. However, consumption and digestion is, of course, far different methods of obtaining Allicin and therefore may reduce the actual antimicrobial effects of this and other compounds.
Therefore, it’s important to keep in mind that the way that garlic is processed and extracted will alter the content and level of bioactive compounds.
There’s much to discuss about the other bioactive compounds in garlic, but we’ll keep it here for the time being.
Cardiovascular Benefits of Garlic
Garlic’s widespread use may suggest profound benefits and therapeutic effects. Although it may not have been known at the time what compounds may have been the ones to provide benefits, current studies have found that garlic may have cardiovascular, anti-tumor, hypoglycemic properties outside of the antimicrobial activities seen above.
Again, much to discuss here, but due to the possible association to vampires we will focus on the cardiovascular effects for now, in particular the effects on atherosclerosis and blood pressure.8
Cardiovascular Effects
Bayan, et al. reports some of the heart benefits of garlic:
Garlic and its preparations have been widely recognized as agents for prevention and treatment of cardiovascular diseases. The wealth of scientific literature supports the proposal that garlic consumption have significant effects on lowering blood pressure, prevention of atherosclerosis, reduction of serum cholesterol and triglyceride, inhibition of platelet aggregation, and increasing fibrinolytic activity (Chan et al., 2013). Both experimental and clinical studies on different garlic preparations demonstrate these favorable cardiovascular effects.
As it relates to atherosclerosis, garlic appears to have a profound effect on lipid buildup, as garlic can inhibit many of the lipid pathways that may accrue on the arterial wall of blood vessels and may have effects on cholesterol as well.
Banerjee, S. K., & Maulik, S. K.9 provides a thorough review of some of these cardiovascular benefits, including an examination of atherosclerosis below (emphasis mine):
Protective effect of garlic on atherosclerosis has been attributed to its capacity to reduce lipid content in arterial wall. Garlic causes direct antiatherogenic (preventive) and antiatherosclerotic (causing regression) effects at the level of artery wall [39]. Garlic depressed the hepatic activities of lipogenic and cholesterogenic enzymes such as malic enzyme, fatty acid synthase, glucose-6 phosphate dehydrogenase and 3-hydroxy-3-methyl-glutaryl-CoA (HMG CoA) reductase [40]. Garlic also increased the excretion of cholesterol, as manifested by enhanced excretion of acidic and neutral steroids after garlic feeding [20]. LDL isolated from human subjects given AGE [41] and aqueous garlic extract [42] was found to be significantly more resistant to oxidation. These data indicate that suppressed LDL oxidation may be one of the powerful mechanisms accounted for the benefits of garlic in atherosclerosis [43]. Allicin was identified initially as the active compound responsible for antiatherosclerotic effect. However, recent in vitro studies revealed that water-soluble organosulfur compounds, especially S-allyl cysteine (SAC), present in aged garlic extract and diallyl-di-sulfide (DADS), present in garlic oil are also potent inhibitors of cholesterol synthesis [40,44].
Garlic can also reduce blood pressure, as evidence of increased garlic consumption has been associated with lower blood pressure.
This hypotensive effect appears to be due to the prostaglandin-like effects of garlic compounds (emphasis mine):
Rashid and Khan (1985) have postulated that mechanism of antihypertensive action of garlic is due to its prostaglandin like effects, which decreases peripheral vascular resistance [92]. The gamma-glutamylcysteines are the compounds in garlic that may lower blood pressure, as indicated by their ability to inhibit angiotensin-converting enzyme in in vitro [114]. Garlic modulates the production and function of both endothelium derived relaxing and constricting factors and this may contribute to its protective effect against hypoxic pulmonary vasoconstriction [103]. Garlic elicits nitric-oxide-dependent relaxation in pulmonary arteries. This hypothesis was explained by the fact that NG-nitro-L-arginine methyl ester (L-NAME, a NOS inhibitor) abolished the vasodilatory effect of garlic [103,104]. But another study reported that pulmonary vasodilatory effect of allicin are independent of the synthesis of NO, ATP-sensitive (K+) channel, activation of cyclooxygenase enzyme [101].
Overall, garlic has a ton of cardiovascular benefits, and for a supernatural being who’s primary feeding method is to drain their victims of blood, there may be an instance of literally false; metaphorically true occurring.
Vampires Be Gone!
Surprisingly, garlic has appeared as a deterrent in Broker’s Dracula, with evidence of the story’s protagonist being provided garlic to protect himself (Mantzioris, E. & Weinstein, P.10):
The most famous vampire, Bram Stoker’s Dracula, had a clear aversion to garlic, as recorded in 1897 in the Romanian city of Bistritz.4 There, Johnathan Harker was given garlic for protection when travelling to Dracula’s castle. Later, the Dutch vampire hunter Professor Van Helsing (Box 2) uses garlic flowers to protect Lucy Westenra by decking her room with them, rubbing them all around the window sashes, the door and the fireplace, and fixing her with a “wreath of garlic round her neck”.4 Dracula nevertheless manages to bite Lucy and transform her into a vampire, necessitating her vanquishing by wooden stake and having her mouth filled with garlic. It is said that Dracula’s aversion to garlic was because it “so afflicts him that he has no power”.4
The questions of the mythos’ origins raise some speculations about the role that the New World played in forming these stories, as vampire bats11 are native to Central and South America.
And yet, many indigenous cultures appear to have used herbs and plants including garlic in an attempt to ward of vampire bats and other animals, suggesting that this overlap in garlic may have had some of its roots in indigenous traditions.
Regardless, the fact that many cultures have their own superstitions with garlic is quite fascinating.
Here we’ll try to tie medical diseases to the possible aversion to garlic. Note that this is done more for fun, and we may not find any proper evidence of the sort here.
Reduced Feeding?
Mantzioris, E. & Weinstein, P. comments that the hypotensive effects of garlic may actually slow down blood flow. For beings where time may be of the essence it may not be proper to feed on someone who has consumed too much garlic, especially if it means one may be quickly targeted:
The reduced ability of vampires to feed from the victims who have ingested garlic may be linked to hypotensive effects. Speed in feeding is of the essence, in that the probability of discovery and being staked increases with feeding time. Therefore, even a small reduction in blood pressure would increase risk, and garlic supplements reduce both systolic (SBP) and diastolic blood pressure (DBP). […] Although an increase in feeding time of about 10% would not dramatically increase the chances of an individual vampire being discovered, interrupted and/or staked, over millennia, the cumulative effect of a small selective advantage could favour vampires feeding on non‐garlicky victims in order to complete their meals more rapidly.9
You’re probably noticing there’s a bit of humor being thrown in here. From a practical perspective, the general odds of finding a non-garlic eating individual would be nearly impossible. It could be, if we were to humor this position, that vampires may use the smell of garlic as a heuristic approach, such that those who smell of garlic would take too long to feed on.
This is more of a comical approach. However, the hypotensive effects of garlic is well known. The actual ramifications of such effects on blood-sucking are yet to have been fully elucidated.
Porphyria and Garlicky Heme Destruction
Up to now we have mentioned that porphyria is likely to have contributed to the vampire mythos. When it comes to garlic, there’s evidence that some of garlic’s compounds may aid in the conversion of Heme.
For those who already have difficulty in producing Heme, any conversion of Heme would deplete the already low levels and prove very detrimental.
The enzyme in question here is Heme Oxygenase-1 (HO-1), which converts Heme into the compound Biliverdin.
HO-1 has been researched for its effects on inflammation and is being looked at as a possible therapeutic target.
It’s been proposed that excess garlic intake may actually eliminate Heme and red blood cells at a faster rate than the body can replenish them; a phenomenon known as hemolytic anemia.
Several of garlic’s organosulfur compounds appear to induce the upregulation of HO-112, and so such a mechanism may be very harmful in those with porphyria by exacerbating these symptoms and may prove to be be lethal.
However, some of these studies looking at the effects on HO-1 have looked at garlic extract, especially in aged garlic which may have higher levels of organosulfur compounds.
At the same time, it may not be common for people to eat just one source of food even at the time of rampant vampirism. Other food sources, such as tropical leafy greens, may attenuate the anemic effects of garlic13, and so garlic may not be viewed in isolation of other factors.
In essence, pinning the blame on garlic would be rather difficult unless villagers of olden times practiced an exclusionary diet. The circumstances of the emergence of vampirism would, in theory, work the same with garlic such that it would be unlikely that many people would be aware of the anemic effects of garlic.
Most comments about this porphyria/garlic association appears to rely on this upregulation of HO-1, and yet there doesn’t appear to be any further assessment that has taken place in the literature. There also doesn’t appear to be much in the way of associating porphyria and hemolytic anemia to garlic.
Therefore, the evidence is interesting albeit highly speculative.
Garlic and Rabies?
I unfortunately made the mistake of typing in the above header into search engines hoping to find some historical ground for the use of garlic to treat rabies (note: clearly not effectively!).
Strangely, I came across a few articles on using garlic for at-home remedies for rabies, which I of course should argue is not effective!
A few of these articles have argued that this effect may be due to Allicin and its antimicrobial properties. However, we’ve already discussed how there are issues in bioavailability of garlic.
It probably shouldn’t go without explaining but one should really REALLY not try to treat rabies with garlic!
As a repellent, it has been argued that one possibility could be the fact that the volatile compounds in garlic may be far too overpowering in those infected with rabies as the pungent odor would be heightened by the increased sensitivity to smell in rabid individuals.
But again, all of these assumptions are speculative. Even in modern times the number of rabies deaths are extremely low, and so no literature exists to argue the actual heightened smell that comes with having rabies.
Unfortunately, the actual association between garlic and rabies is just as elusive as vampires themselves.
Garlic has plenty of health benefits, with many cultures finding a way to either cook or utilize garlic in some manner.
There’s no doubt that garlic, albeit delicious, may also produce some some unpleasant scents through our breath and sweat. One doesn’t need to be a vampire to be put off by the strong smell of garlic, unless that is to your liking (I’m not shaming).
To the extent that garlic may actually deter vampires is one of high controversy. The association with modern diseases is somewhat tenuous, and the literature lacks any substantial evidence to support the use of garlic in deterring the undead.
It’s likely that garlic’s use as a panacea may have worked its way into the lore. In essence, if garlic can cure everything, then surely garlic can ward off the supernatural. It could be that, by virtue of the healing properties of garlic in general, did garlic eventually become associated with warding off unwanted beings and evil.
In any case, I’ll end this post with a “prescription” from Mantzioris, E. & Weinstein, P. Choose to follow if you are concerned about a visit from the undead, but be aware if you already consuming enough garlic as is. Please be both conscientious of the effects of garlic on both the undead and the living:
Overall, garlic supplements appear to be safe and well tolerated. With minimal side effects, garlic administration at the population level could potentially provide protection from vampire attacks through the lowering of blood pressure (increasing feeding time) and by a vampire’s inborn or learned aversion to garlic and its volatiles. The requisite dose for such an intervention would be one to two cloves of garlic per day per person for lowering blood pressure, and one to two bulbs per day for the effective sweating of garlic volatiles from the skin.13 The authors would recommend aiming for the higher dose intervention because garlic odour produced at the community level would provide herd immunity against vampires, as well as protecting conscientious garlic objectors.
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Don’t @ me, I love garlic! Interestingly, this article comes at an apt time as I try to plant garlic for next year. Well, let’s see how that goes. 🤷♂️
Bayan, L., Koulivand, P. H., & Gorji, A. (2014). Garlic: a review of potential therapeutic effects. Avicenna journal of phytomedicine, 4(1), 1–14.
Shang, A., Cao, S. Y., Xu, X. Y., Gan, R. Y., Tang, G. Y., Corke, H., Mavumengwana, V., & Li, H. B. (2019). Bioactive Compounds and Biological Functions of Garlic (Allium sativum L.). Foods (Basel, Switzerland), 8(7), 246. https://doi.org/10.3390/foods8070246
From an evolutionary standpoint this mechanism would make sense, in that Allicin may only be produced when cells are destroyed triggering a feedback mechanism that may halt the destruction of other cells.
Borlinghaus, J., Albrecht, F., Gruhlke, M. C., Nwachukwu, I. D., & Slusarenko, A. J. (2014). Allicin: chemistry and biological properties. Molecules (Basel, Switzerland), 19(8), 12591–12618. https://doi.org/10.3390/molecules190812591
Thiosulfinate refers to that specific bonding pattern between sulfurs and oxygen and shown in Allicin. The general organization is shown below where R groups refer to carbon chains:
Borlinghaus, J., Foerster Née Reiter, J., Kappler, U., Antelmann, H., Noll, U., Gruhlke, M., & Slusarenko, A. J. (2021). Allicin, the Odor of Freshly Crushed Garlic: A Review of Recent Progress in Understanding Allicin's Effects on Cells. Molecules (Basel, Switzerland), 26(6), 1505. https://doi.org/10.3390/molecules26061505
I doubt many vampires would be concerned about the anti-tumor effects of garlic to be honest…
Banerjee, S. K., & Maulik, S. K. (2002). Effect of garlic on cardiovascular disorders: a review. Nutrition journal, 1, 4. https://doi.org/10.1186/1475-2891-1-4
Mantzioris, E. and Weinstein, P. (2021), Garlic as a vampire deterrent: fact or fiction?. Med J Aust, 215: 541-543. https://doi.org/10.5694/mja2.51349
In a case of “the chicken or the egg”, it appears that vampire bats were named after the supernatural being, and not the other way around.
Funes, S. C., Rios, M., Fernández-Fierro, A., Covián, C., Bueno, S. M., Riedel, C. A., Mackern-Oberti, J. P., & Kalergis, A. M. (2020). Naturally Derived Heme-Oxygenase 1 Inducers and Their Therapeutic Application to Immune-Mediated Diseases. Frontiers in immunology, 11, 1467. https://doi.org/10.3389/fimmu.2020.01467
Oboh G. (2004). Prevention of garlic-induced hemolytic anemia using some tropical green leafy vegetables. Journal of medicinal food, 7(4), 498–501. https://doi.org/10.1089/jmf.2004.7.498
Note that I am using this assumption rather loosely here, as other food sources should be looked at when consumed along with garlic. It’s unlikely that many Europeans would have access to tropical leafy greens, but other foods may provide the same benefits.
Thanks for this very amusing and interesting article. The vampire myth is fascinating, too. I just love garlic. Good luck with your planting!
A meal without garlic is like....
A meal with a vampire
Or
A boring meal (one could say vampires bore or bite)
Or
Just like British cooking