13. Garlic Effect on Reduce Blood Pressure and Cholesterol in Patients With and Without Hypertension: A Systematic Review and Meta-Analysis of Randomized Controlled Trials

Abstract

Background:Garlic has been linked to improved cardiovascular health. Garlic has been suggested to lower blood pressure, plasma lipids as well as an antiplatelet effect and other cardiovascular markers.Objective:We aim to assess the latest evidence on the effect of garlic on blood pressure and cholesterol in patients with and without hypertension through systematic review and meta-analysis.Method:We performed a comprehensive search on topics that assesses garlic outcomes in patients with and without hypertension from inception up until December 2020.Results:There were a total of 503 patients from 12 controlled trial studies. Pooled systolic blood pressure was lower in garlic group (mean difference -3.62 [-5.43, -1.80], p = <0.000001; I2: 85%, p < 0.0001). Meta-analysis showed that diastolic blood pressure was lower in garlic group (mean difference -1.40 [-2.72, -0.08], p = <0.00001; I2: 86%, p = 0.04) on follow-up. Total cholesterol was also lower in garlic group (mean difference -17.17 [-28.57, -5.78], p < 0.00001; I2: 86%, p = 0.003). Level of heart rate was similar in garlic and placebo group.Conclusion:This meta-analysis suggests that garlic is associated with reducing blood pressure and cholesterol in patients with and without hypertension. Future long-term trials are needed to elucidate the impact of garlic on cardiovascular morbidity and mortality.

Garlic for arterial hypertension and hypercholesterolaemia. Review of literature studies and clinical studies

“…There are many randomized controlled trials (RCT) investigating the impact of garlic on blood pressure and lipid metabolism available in the literature. Results of these studies have been collectively summarized in numerous meta-analyses, the results of which are presented in Table 1 [23,[27][28][29][30][31][32] and Table 2 [27,[33][34][35][36][37][38].…”

“…Garlic preparations that were most used in clinical trials included garlic powder, mature garlic extract, garlic oil, Japanese garlic powder containing egg yolk, and raw garlic. Doses of individual preparations varied, as did the duration of the intervention (several weeks on average) [23,27,38]. In the meta-analysis by Ried [28], it was observed that formulations containing garlic had a high safety profile and were well tolerated.…”

“…Garlic has been shown to have antihypertensive and hypolipemic properties that were particularly evident in patients with cardiovascular risk factors [23,[27][28][29][30][31][32][33][34][35][36][37][38].…”