No evidence that garlic can kill brain cancer cells

Context

A Facebook page called "Herbs, Health, and Happiness" claimed in a post that "garlic can kill brain cancer cells without side effects," attracting 1.9 million likes.

The post links to an article that has been shared 136 times across various social media platforms. The article, which cites different research papers, makes claims about garlic's efficacy in treating multiple diseases, including cancer. However, the claim is false.

In Fact

Claims linking garlic to cancer treatment have surfaced repeatedly, resulting in multiple studies on the topic. Research has highlighted the therapeutic properties of garlic, but there is no evidence that garlic can cure cancer.

A paper published in the scientific journal Nature in 2018 found that garlic had a novel therapeutic effect only when injected. "The most-effective way of treating cancer by RGE (oral gavages of raw garlic extract) may be the direct injection instead of eating the cooked garlic," according to the study. The paper concludes that ingesting garlic failed to affect cancer cells positively. However, RGE had a novel therapeutic effect against even the most aggressive models of malignancy in mice when injected. According to the American Institute of Cancer Research (AICR), there is a lack of evidence for similar effects in humans.

Dr. Dipanjan Panda, Senior Oncology Consultant at Indraprastha Apollo Hospital told Logically Facts, "As far as I know, there is no study that says garlic can be used to treat cancer. It can at best be used as supplementary food." He added, "Garlic is one of the most widely used spices for medicinal purposes. It has antioxidant value and there is some suggestion that it may have some role in chemoprevention." Also, garlic supplements do not seem to have the same benefits.

A systematic review of the global scientific literature and AlCR's Third Expert Report and Continuous Update Project found "evidence too limited to draw conclusions about garlic and cancer risk." Studies on the protective effects of garlic against various cancers are also mixed.

The Verdict

The claim that garlic kills cancer cells is false. Garlic may have therapeutic properties, but there is no evidence that it can kill brain cells in humans. Therefore, we have marked this claim as false.