Description:
Garlic is a perennial plant in the family Alliaceae and genus Allium, closely related to the onion, shallot, and leek. It does not grow in the wild, and is thought to have arisen in cultivation, probably descended from the species Allium longicuspis, which grows wild in south-western Asia. Garlic has been used throughout all of recorded history for both culinary and medicinal purposes.
Common Use:
It has no modern aromatherapy associations at all. In modern naturopathy, garlic itself, not the oil, is used as a treatment for intestinal worms.
History:
From the earliest times garlic has been used as an article of diet. It is the most widely used component of the Lebanese cuisine. Many Lebanese salads contain a garlic sauce. It formed part of the food of the Israelites in Egypt (Numbers. xi. 5) and of the labourers employed by Khufu in the construction of his pyramid. Garlic is still grown in Egypt, where, however, the Syrian variety is the kind most esteemed (see Rawlinson\\'s Herodotus, 2.125).
Caution:
As with all essential oils, they should not be used during pregnancy and never ingested (taken internally) and should be kept away from children and pets.