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Effect of garlic (Allium sativum) powder tablets on serum lipids, blood pressure and arterial stiffness in normo-lipidaemic volunteers: a randomised, double-blind, placebo-controlled trial

Published online by Cambridge University Press:  09 March 2007

Beate Turner ,
Christian Mølgaard  and
Peter Marckmann
Beate Turner*
Affiliation:
Dansk Droge, Industrigrenen 10, DK-2635 Ishøj, Denmark
Christian Mølgaard
Affiliation:
Department of Human Nutrition and Centre for Advanced Food Studies, The Royal Veterinary and Agricultural University, Rolighedsvej 30, DK-1958 Frederiksberg C, Denmark
Peter Marckmann
Affiliation:
Medical Department, Roskilde Hospital, DK-4000 Roskilde, Denmark
*
*Corresponding author: Dr Beate Turner, email [email protected]
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Abstract

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Recent studies have cast doubt on the proposed lipid-lowering and blood pressure-lowering effects of garlic. We tested the effect of dried garlic (Allium sativum) powder on blood lipids, blood pressure and arterial stiffness in a 12-week randomised, double-blind, placebo-controlled trial. Seventy-five healthy, normo-lipidaemic volunteers (men and women aged 40–60 years) were assigned to dried garlic powder tablets (10·8 mg alliin (3-(2-propenylsulfinyl)-l-alanine)/d, corresponding to about three garlic cloves) or placebo. Sixty-two subjects were eligible for the per-protocol analysis. The primary outcome measure was serum total cholesterol concentration. Secondary outcome measures were LDL-cholesterol, HDL-cholesterol and triacylglycerol concentrations, blood pressure and arterial stiffness (assessed by pulse wave velocity). No significant differences between the garlic and placebo groups were detected for any of the outcome measures. However, garlic powder was associated with a near-significant decrease (12 %) in triacylglycerol concentration (P=0·07). In conclusion, garlic powder tablets have no clinically relevant lipid-lowering and blood pressure-lowering effects in middle-aged, normo-lipidaemic individuals. The putative anti-atherosclerotic effect of garlic may be linked to risk markers other than blood lipids.

Keywords

AlliinRisk factorPulse wave velocityCoronary heart disease
Type
Research Article
Information
British Journal of Nutrition , Volume 92 , Issue 4 , October 2004 , pp. 701 - 706
Copyright
Copyright © The Nutrition Society 2004

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