Allium sativum, commonly known as garlic, is a species in the onion genus, Allium. Garlic is a plant with long, flat grass like leaves and a papery hood around the flowers. The stalk rises directly from the flower buld, which is the part of the plant used as food and medicine. The bulb is made up of many smaller bulbs covered with a papery skin known as cloves.The most active components of fresh garlic are an amino acid called alliin and an enzyme called allinase. When a clove of garlic is chewed, chopped, bruised, or cut, these compounds mix to form allicin, which is responsible for garlic's strong smell. Allicin,
in turn, breaks down into other sulfur compounds within a few hours. Current studies show that garlic can improve immune function.