Previous studies have shown that aged garlic extract suppresses cancer growth and enhances immune system against cancer, and yet little is known about inhibition of the cancer cell migration. In this study we investigated whether the aged garlic extract inhibits growth and migration of rat sarcoma tumor cells. The suppression of tumor cell growth was demonstrated by counting the cell number in three groups (control, cultured with 10 mg/ml, 20 mg/ml of aged garlic extracts) after culturing for 3 days and 5 days. The results showed that aged garlic extract inhibited the growth of rat sarcoma cancer cells in a dose-dependent manner, compared to the numbers of the cells grown in control group. The inhibition of tumor cell migration was examined by measuring the distance of trails left behind by the tumor cells when they passed through the polybeads overnight in four groups (control, 5 mg/ml, 10 mg/ml, 20 mg/ml aged garlic extracts). The average distance of trails in control group was 7.44 mm, whereas the average distance of cell movement is only 2.48 mm when treated with the highest concentration (20 mg/ml) of the aged garlic extract. The results also showed that the inhibitory effect of aged garlic extracts on tumor cell migration was dose-dependent. This is the first report to show that the aged garlic extract inhibits rat sarcoma cell migration, a critical feature of tumor cell metastasis. It can be thus envisioned that if tumor cell metastasis could be attenuated if not completely stopped, it would be possible to stabilize the tumor in the local area for surgical removal. The results suggest that garlic, as a natural plant, unlike other cancer treatment methods, may play a role in fighting cancer without significant side effects.

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