If you like garlic but feel like it’s too strong to eat raw, elephant garlic may be for you. It’s always a great time to try a new superfood.

Elephant garlic resembles huge garlic cloves weighing about 1 pound per bulb, and it delivers a mild flavor with a lot of great nutrition benefits. However, elephant garlic, or Allium ampeloprasum, is not really garlic. While it’s in the allium family like regular “soft-neck” garlic, it is closer in species to leeks than garlic (1). Like leeks, it has a more mild flavor than traditional garlic and is favorable in taste to those who find raw garlic too strong.

Here’s everything you need to know about elephant garlic and how it stacks up.

All About Elephant Garlic

Flavor and Size

It has a mild flavor in comparison to regular garlic. In fact, many people enjoy it raw.

And, it’s huge compared to regular garlic. Elephant garlic bulbs can weight a pound each!

Nutrition

Like regular garlic, elephant garlic is full of healthy nutrients.

In fact, elephant garlic bulbs are an excellent source of vitamins E, C, and A. Similar to conventional garlic, Elephant garlic also contains allicin, which has been known for its antibacterial properties.

Many studies have been conducted on elephant garlic’s antibacterial, antiviral, and antifungal properties.

Potential Antimicrobial and Anti-Cancer Activity

Numerous studies indicate that garlic (A. sativum L), contains antimicrobial agents named allicin-containing diallyl sulphide and thiosulfate that are highly effective against major foodborne pathogens (2, 3). Allicin is readily membrane-permeable and undergoes thiol-disulfide exchange reactions with free thiol groups in proteins. It is thought that these properties are the basis of its antimicrobial action (4).

Numerous studies have found that elephant garlic, among other Allium species, contains eight different thiosulfinates. Thiosulfinatets are antimicrobial agents (5). In fact, elephant garlic may be as potent as regular garlic in terms of antibiotic activity (6, 7).

What’s more, like regular garlic which has been found to have anti-cancer properties, elephant garlic may help slow down the growth of cancer cells, leading to cell cycle arrest, apoptosis, and angiogenesis inhabitation (8).

As more and more people learn of and use elephant garlic, more studies are being conducted to show its properties and benefits.

Current Studies on Elephant Garlic

Anti-Cancer

One lab study tested elephant garlic against osteosarcoma cell (U2OS) proliferation and cell activity. Human osteosarcoma cells and elephant garlic extract were used. It was concluded that elephant garlic exhibits antibacterial property and has an inhibitory effect on osteosarcoma cells (U2OS) proliferation and cell activity (9).

Vibrio cholera is a major foodborne pathogen in Thailand. It is present in raw and lightly cooked foods, and it causes cholera. Natural products inhibiting it can be used to improve the safety of foods.

Another study pitted elephant garlic oil against Vibrio cholera, a major foodborne pathogen found in Thailand. In this lab study, the oil was found to kill or inhibit the bacteria, retarding the growth of the bacteria or reducing the bacterial cell load (10).

Since it has a more mellow taste, try slicing elephant garlic and adding straight to a salad or cooked dish. Or, saute it in recipes as you would regular garlic.