Introduction: In addition to their nutritional value, medicinal herbs have received great attention, since ancient times, for their potential in controlling and curing diseases. Such effects are originated from various compounds, including antioxidants, available in their structure. Amongst others, garlic has been used by both traditional medicine and modern medicine to treat various diseases. Thanks to various antioxidant combinations and sulfur-contained substances, including allysine, phytoalexin, diallyl sulfide disulfide and tri-sulfide, garlic plays a vital role in curing diseases including cancer. In this study, we examined the effect of garlic extract on the expression of BAX and BCL-XL genes.Materials and Methods: A total number of 30 male Wistar rats (weight=250 ± 20 gr) were selected from the experimental animal breeding center of Jundishapur University of Ahwaz in random. The rats were grouped into three groups namely: healthy rats, 3-week old rats and 8-week old rats. The latter two groups were treated by garlic extract, extracted by percolation method, at two concentrations i.e. 100 and 200 mg /ml. All rats were evaluated using Real Time PCR method.Results: The expression of BAX showed a significant increase at the concentrations of 100mg/ml and 200 mg/ml of garlic extract in weeks 3 and 8 in all groups while the expression of Bcl-Xl showed a significant decrease at both concentrations in both weeks.Discussion: It can be argued that garlic extract has a positive effect on the opposite expression of Bax and Bcl-Xl genes contributing to the apoptosis of cancer cells.
