 In the 17th century, Thomas Sydenham valued it as an application in confluent smallpox, and William Cullen's "Materia Medica" of 1789 found some dropsies cured by it alone.Garlic was used as an antiseptic to prevent gangrene during World War I and World War II.Garlic is widely used around the world for its pungent flavor as a seasoning or condiment.