Short‑term impact of aged garlic extract on endothelial function in diabetes: A randomized, double‑blind, placebo‑controlled trial

Abstract

Impaired endothelial function portends an increased risk of cardiovascular disease. Vascular oxidative stress and systemic inflammation play a critical role in the pathogenesis and progression of vascular disease. Aged garlic extract (AGE) may improve impaired vascular endothelial function, while decreasing the progression of atherosclerotic plaque. We hypothesized that AGE may improve endothelial function, and in this study, we examined this hypothesis to determine whether this can be achieved over a period of 3 months, measured by the cardio-ankle vascular index (CAVI), by reducing intracellular oxidant stress and stimulating nitric oxide generation in endothelial cells. We conducted a double-blinded placebo controlled, randomized clinical trial to investigate the effects of AGE on CAVI in subjects with type 2 diabetes mellitus. A total of 65 individuals (38 men and 27 women) with a mean age of 58.8±11.1 years were enrolled and randomized to the AGE or placebo group in a double-blind placebo controlled trial. An ANOVA model with treatment as the main effect was used to compare changes in CAVI from baseline to follow-up between groups. The primary objective of this study was reduction in CAVI over a 3-month period. In the AGE group, CAVI was reduced on average by 0.71±1.27 vs. a mean reduction of 0.13±0.94 in the placebo group (P=0.04). On the whole, this study demonstrates that AGE has a positive impact on endothelial function in patients with T2DM and may play a role in the primary prevention of cardiovascular disease.

Successful improved peripheral tissue perfusion was seen in patients with atherosclerosis after 12 months of treatment with aged garlic extract

“…AGE with the active ingredient S‐allylcysteine (SAC) has been shown to have a positive effect on atherosclerosis 13‐23 …”

“…AGE with the active ingredient S‐allylcysteine (SAC) has been shown to have a positive effect on atherosclerosis. 13 , 14 , 15 , 16 , 17 , 18 , 19 , 20 , 21 , 22 , 23 AGE exerts its effects, through NO dependent pathways. S ‐1‐propenylcysteine (S1PC) and SAC are the two predominant sulphur‐containing amino acids present in AGE.…”

“…Aged garlic extract (AGE) has been shown to have a positive effect on endothelial function and atherosclerosis, 11 , 12 , 13 , 14 , 15 , 16 , 17 , 18 , 19 , 20 , 21 , 22 , 23 and exerts its effects, through NO dependent pathways. 17 , 24 , 25 , 26 , 27 AGE has therefore been suggested to have a positive effect on vascular elasticity and endothelial function.…”

S-1-propenylcysteine improves TNF-α-induced vascular endothelial barrier dysfunction by suppressing the GEF-H1/RhoA/Rac pathway

“…AGE has been shown to exert various biological and pharmacological activities such as anti-inflammatory [20,21], anti-atherosclerotic [20,[22][23][24], anti-hypertensive [25,26] and anti-oxidative effects [27,28]. In particular, AGE prevented progression of cardiovascular diseases through the improvement of vascular endothelial dysfunction in clinical studies [24,26,[29][30][31][32]. In addition, AGE has been demonstrated to inhibit the lipid deposition [33] and inflammation in a mouse atherosclerosis model [20] and to protect endothelial cells against oxidative injury [34].…”

S-1-Propenylcysteine Improves TNF-α-Induced Vascular Endothelial Barrier Dysfunction by Suppressing the GEF-H1/RhoA/Rac Pathway

“…AGE has been shown to exert various biological and pharmacological activities such as anti-in ammatory [20,21], anti-atherosclerotic [20,[22][23][24], antihypertensive [25,26] and anti-oxidative effects [27,28]. In particular, AGE prevented progression of cardiovascular diseases through the improvement of vascular endothelial dysfunction in clinical studies [24,26,[29][30][31][32]. In addition, AGE has been demonstrated to inhibit the lipid deposition [33] and in ammation in a mouse atherosclerosis model [20] and to protect endothelial cells against oxidative injury [34].…”