Herb library · Herb · Tulbaghia violacea
Wild garlic (Tulbaghia)
A South African bulb with purple flowers and a strong garlic smell, long used there for chest complaints and worms. It has not been studied in people.
Traditional use
Pappe recorded in 1857 that the bulbs of the Cape wild garlic (Tulbaghia), which had been given the Dutch name wilde knoflook, were boiled in milk for consumption (tuberculosis) and to expel intestinal worms, and that in the eastern districts T. violacea served the same purpose. It is still a commonly used medicinal plant in South Africa, known as itswele lomlambo in isiXhosa and isihaqa in isiZulu.
What studies show
No studies in people of this herb on its own yet. What is known of it comes from the traditions that use it.
- Insufficient
Chest complaints, worms and infections: no study of wild garlic in people was found. Its research is in cells and animals.
Be careful of
Cautions
- InteractionIn a laboratory study, wild-garlic extract only weakly blocked two liver enzymes that clear drugs (CYP1A2 and CYP2C9); this has not been tested in people. Tell your clinician if you take it with prescription medicines.
- NoteIt is not true garlic (Allium sativum), and research on garlic does not apply to it. Tuberculosis needs a clinician and full medical care.
- PregnancyNo safety information for medicinal amounts in pregnancy or breastfeeding was found.
- Ask a clinicianTalk with a clinician or pharmacist before using this if you take prescription medicines, are pregnant or breastfeeding, or are giving it to a child.
From the old books
What herbals and dispensaries of the past printed. History, in their words.
“Its bulbs, boiled in milk, are recommended in phthisis, and for expelling intestinal worms. In the eastern districts, Tulbaghia cepacea and T. violacea serve the same purpose.”
Sources
- The inhibitory activity of the extracts of popular medicinal herbs on CYP1A2, 2C9, 2C19 and 3A4 and the implications for herb-drug interaction (Afr J Tradit Complement Altern Med, 2014) — PubMed record (opens in a new tab) · NIH · read September 25, 2026
- Anticancer properties of Tulbaghia violacea regulate the expression of p53-dependent mechanisms in cancer cell lines (Sci Rep, 2020) — PubMed record (opens in a new tab) · NIH · read September 25, 2026
Reviewed September 25, 2026.