Allium sativum

Allium sativum is a perennial bulbous plant of the family Amaryllidaceae, native to Central Asia and cultivated worldwide as a culinary and medicinal herb. Its strong odour and pungent taste arise from organosulphur compounds, chiefly allicin, formed when the bulbs are crushed. Used for millennia as a food, spice, and medicine, garlic has been valued for its antimicrobial, circulatory, and digestive properties. In homeopathy, the fresh bulb is macerated in alcohol to prepare the mother tincture. The remedy acts prominently on the digestive system, especially in sluggish, atonic states, and on the respiratory tract and circulatory system in conditions arising from rich, fatty diet, overindulgence, or sedentary habits.

First introduced into homeopathy by Dr. Petroz in the mid-19th century; later confirmed by Dr. C. Hering [Hering, Allen]. Proving symptoms centre on the alimentary canal, with secondary effects on the respiratory tract and circulation.

Allium sativum typifies the consequences of overindulgence in rich food and sedentary living — gastric and hepatic congestion, flatulence, sluggish portal circulation, and vascular engorgement. The essence is digestive oppression with systemic sluggishness.

• Digestive system – Stomach, intestines, portal circulation [Hering, Clarke].
• Liver and portal veins – Congestion, sluggish metabolism.
• Respiratory tract – Bronchial mucosa in catarrhal states.
• Circulatory system – Chronic vascular congestion, sluggish peripheral circulation.
• Skin – Irritative eruptions in sensitive subjects.
• Musculoskeletal system – Chronic gouty and rheumatic tendencies from rich diet.

Irritability and impatience when unwell. Disinclination for mental work from gastric oppression [Hering]. Hypersensitivity to criticism; mental state often mirrors sluggish digestion and portal congestion.

Drowsy after meals. Sleep disturbed by heat in head or digestive discomfort.

Acts chiefly on the digestive organs and portal circulation; produces a state of vascular and mucous membrane congestion. Suitable to plethoric, sedentary individuals addicted to rich food and drink.

No characteristic proving fever; warmth of skin after ingestion from vasodilation.

Flushes of heat after meals; perspiration odorous of garlic.

Dull, heavy headaches after indulgence in rich food. Congestive fullness in forehead with heat in face. Vertigo on rising quickly, from hepatic congestion.

Burning and smarting of eyes after eating garlic in sensitive subjects. Lids may feel heavy; conjunctiva slightly injected in portal congestion.

Ringing or buzzing in ears in cases of sluggish circulation.

Coryza with thin, watery discharge, or dryness with sneezing. Breath strongly odorous of garlic; nasal passages feel warm.

Flushed after eating; puffiness in chronic overindulgence. Skin may show small pustules or eruptions in sensitive people.

Taste of garlic persists long after eating; excessive salivation in some. Tongue coated white or yellow in bilious states [Allen].

No characteristic symptoms beyond toothache from congestive facial conditions.

Warm, pungent sensation after ingestion; slight rawness or tickling in fauces. Chronic pharyngeal irritation in those who habitually consume garlic.

Warm sensation in chest after ingestion. Oppression and tendency to short cough in catarrhal states. Chronic bronchial irritation with tough expectoration in those with rich dietary habits.

Palpitation after overindulgence; heaviness in precordial region from vascular congestion.

Shortness of breath on exertion from sluggish circulation; better from open air and movement.

Key sphere of action. Slow digestion with weight and discomfort after meals; eructations of garlic taste for hours [Clarke]. Burning at stomach; nausea from rich food. Appetite increased in some, diminished in others from continual gastric irritation. Sensation as if food lay like a heavy ball. Pyrosis, regurgitation of acid fluid.

Fullness, distension, and rumbling, especially in epigastrium and right hypochondrium. Flatulence abundant, often fetid; relieved by passing wind. Congestion in portal system; liver feels enlarged and tender [Hering].

Constipation alternating with diarrhoea; stools offensive. Haemorrhoidal congestion from sluggish portal flow, with burning and soreness after stool.

Urine strong-smelling; occasional burning at urethra from systemic garlic excretion.

Aversion to rich, greasy foods after prolonged use. Craving for pungent, spiced food. Marked aggravation from excess meat, fat, and alcohol.

Sexual excitement in some provers; sluggish function in others due to excesses and congestion.

No characteristic proving symptoms; general improvement in digestion during pregnancy reported clinically.

Aching in lumbar region from portal congestion. Sacral heaviness after meals.

Heaviness of limbs; muscular stiffness in cold, damp weather. Chronic gouty or rheumatic pains in those of plethoric habit [Clarke].

Eruptions and vesicles in sensitive skin from topical contact. Occasionally pruritic eruptions after excessive ingestion.

• Nux vomica – Gastric and hepatic congestion from dietary excess; more nervous irritability.
• Carbo vegetabilis – Extreme flatulence and collapse tendencies; colder constitution.
• Lycopodium clavatum – Hepatic congestion with flatulence; more right-sidedness and aggravation 4–8 p.m.
• China officinalis – Bloating after loss of fluids; more periodic weakness.

• Complementary: Nux vomica, Lycopodium.
• Follows well: Carbo vegetabilis after collapse; China after loss of fluids.
• Antidotes: Pulsatilla (for gastric aggravation from rich food), strong coffee in medicinal excess.

Indispensable in sluggish digestion of the plethoric, gouty, or sedentary. Useful in chronic bronchial catarrh of old people who have lived richly. Low potencies (mother tincture–3x) are often employed in gastric disorders; higher potencies for constitutional states.

Mind

• Irritability from gastric disturbance
• Aversion to mental work after meals

Head

• Congestion after meals
• Vertigo from hepatic congestion

Stomach

• Digestion, slow, with weight after meals
• Eructations tasting of garlic
• Heartburn from rich food

Abdomen

• Flatulence, fetid
• Congestion, liver

Rectum

• Haemorrhoids, congested, burning after stool

Respiration

• Cough, chronic bronchial, with tough mucus

Skin

• Eruptions from topical contact with garlic

Generalities

• Sedentary lifestyle aggravates
• Rich food aggravates

1. Hering, C., Guiding Symptoms of Our Materia Medica – Original proving notes; gastric and hepatic sphere; modalities from diet.
2. Clarke, J. H., A Dictionary of Practical Materia Medica – Constitution, keynotes in digestive and respiratory symptoms; gouty and rheumatic aggravations.
3. Allen, T. F., Encyclopaedia of Pure Materia Medica – Full proving details; clinical confirmation in gastric, hepatic, and bronchial states.
4. Boericke, W., Pocket Manual of Homeopathic Materia Medica – Condensed keynotes; dietary aggravations and portal congestion.