Immunotherapy and Biopharmaceuticals

For thousands of years, plants have played a vital role in medicine, with an estimated 80% of the global population relying on herbal remedies for healthcare, particularly in regions with limited access to conventional pharmaceuticals. Among these medicinal plants, garlic (Allium sativum L.) has gained significant attention due to its potent bioactive compound allicin. Allicin is enzymatically produced when garlic is crushed, converting the precursor alliin into this sulfur-containing compound. It exhibits a broad spectrum of health-promoting properties, including antimicrobial, anticancer, antioxidant, and cardiovascular protective effects. Recent studies have also highlighted allicin’s immunomodulatory potential, suggesting a possible role in immunotherapy, particularly in enhancing the immune system's ability to detect and combat disease. Immunotherapy, a cutting-edge approach in oncology, leverages the body’s own immune system to target and eliminate cancer cells. It has become a major focus of global cancer research. For instance, a recent large-scale study compared neoadjuvant and adjuvant immunotherapy in perioperative cancer patients, underscoring the growing significance of immunotherapy in clinical settings. Despite allicin's therapeutic promise, especially in immunomodulation, several challenges hinder its broader application. These include a limited understanding of its precise mechanisms of action, instability during processing, and variability in yield depending on the extraction method. This chapter addresses these issues through a comprehensive bioprospecting approach that integrates molecular docking techniques to investigate allicin’s interactions with bacterial proteins and drug resistance targets. Moreover, the study evaluates eco-friendly and efficient extraction techniques, including the use of green solvents and ultrasound-assisted extraction, to enhance allicin yield and stability. By combining innovative extraction methodologies with molecular and pharmacological insights, this chapter aims to promote the therapeutic application of allicin, particularly in the emerging field of immunotherapy, thereby contributing to the development of effective, natural, and sustainable biopharmaceuticals.