Effects of acute and subacute garlic supplement administration on serum total antioxidant capacity and lipid parameters in healthy volunteers

Abstract

Garlic has long been used for medicinal purposes. It has been shown that different forms of garlic have significant antioxidant effects. The strong flavor, odor and unwanted gastrointestinal side effects of fresh garlic has rendered the use of commercial garlic supplements as a preferable option. To investigate the effects of garlic supplementation on serum total antioxidant capacity and lipid parameters, 17 healthy volunteers were administered four standardized commercial garlic tablets every day for 30 days. Blood samples were taken at day 1 (before the first administration of tablets [control] and at 3 h after the administration of tablets), 15 and 30 days, respectively. Total antioxidant capacity (TAC), total cholesterol, low density lipoprotein cholesterol (LDL cholesterol), high density lipoprotein cholesterol (HDL cholesterol) and triglyceride (TG) were measured in sera. Serum TAC was increased significantly at 30 days compared with 15 days, 3 h and control. There was also a significant increase in serum TAC at 15 days compared with 3 h and control. Total cholesterol, LDL cholesterol, HDL cholesterol and TG were not found to be significantly different between control, 3 h, 15 and 30 days. These data suggest that garlic, used as a dietary supplementation, may be beneficial in increasing the antioxidant capacity of the body.

High hydrostatic pressure extract of garlic increases the HDL cholesterol level via up-regulation of apolipoprotein A-I gene expression in rats fed a high-fat diet

“…The antilipidemic effects of garlic have been previously reported [18-20]. Our results showed that dietary HEG reduced hepatic TC and TG levels.…”

Salivary antioxidants of male athletes after aerobic exercise and garlic supplementation on: A randomized, double blind, placebo-controlled study

“…They reported that garlic extract consumption led to significant increase in TAC, SOD, and GPX activity in mice. 25 Koseoglu et al 25 investigated the effect of garlic supplementation on serum TAC and showed that serum TAC of healthy men increased in long-and short-term supplementation. 24 The results of Dhawan et al 24 and Durak et al 39 revealed that garlic with antioxidative effects can react against undesirable effect of oxidative stress caused by disease.…”

“…The findings indicated that garlic consumption increased the activity of enzymes SOD and succinate dehydrogenase. 20 Koseoglu et al 25 investigated the effect of long-term (30 days), short-term (15 days), and single sessions (3 h prior to taking the blood sample) of garlic on TAC and reported that TAC was increased in long-term and short-term supplementary situations. 25 Considering that body cells are prone to free radicals attack, performance of the body's antioxidant defense system to deal with free radicals and ROS is very important.…”

“…20 Koseoglu et al 25 investigated the effect of long-term (30 days), short-term (15 days), and single sessions (3 h prior to taking the blood sample) of garlic on TAC and reported that TAC was increased in long-term and short-term supplementary situations. 25 Considering that body cells are prone to free radicals attack, performance of the body's antioxidant defense system to deal with free radicals and ROS is very important. Therefore, the aim of this study was to evaluate the effect of short-term garlic supplementation on changes in salivary antioxidants in male athletes after a single bout of exhaustive exercise.…”

Allylation of Intraerythrocytic Hemoglobin by Raw Garlic Extracts

“…The molecular mechanisms of garlic's antioxidant activity and lipidlowering effects are known and may be part of a synergistic effect when coupled to garlic's effect on red blood cell (RBC) metabolism. 9,10 A plausible explanation is that garlic extract's constituents may serve as (or be processed to become) signaling molecules, exerting physiological changes through their interactions with metabolites or protein receptors that trigger beneficial cellular responses. On the other hand, membrane-permeable garlic extract constituents may also exert a direct effect on intracellular proteins, thus eliciting a physiological change.…”