Effects of garlic extract consumption on blood lipid and oxidant/antioxidant parameters in humans with high blood cholesterol

Durak, İlker; Kavutcu, Mustafa; Aytaç, Bilal; Avcı, Aslıhan; Devrim, Erdinç; Özbek, Hanefi; Öztürk, Hasan Serdar

doi:10.1016/j.jnutbio.2004.01.005

« PreviousThe Journal of Nutritional Biochemistry
Volume 15, Issue 6 , Pages 373-377, June 2004

Effects of garlic extract consumption on blood lipid and oxidant/antioxidant parameters in humans with high blood cholesterol

İlker Durak
- Ankara University, Medical Faculty, Department of Biochemistry, 06100 Sihhiye/Ankara, Turkey
- Corresponding author. Tel.: +90 312 3116457; fax: +90 312 3106370.
Mustafa Kavutcu
- Gazi University Medical Faculty, Department of Biochemistry, Ankara, Turkey
Bilal Aytaç
- Ankara University, Medical Faculty, Department of Biochemistry, 06100 Sihhiye/Ankara, Turkey
Aslıhan Avcı
- Ankara University, Medical Faculty, Department of Biochemistry, 06100 Sihhiye/Ankara, Turkey
Erdinç Devrim
- Ankara University, Medical Faculty, Department of Biochemistry, 06100 Sihhiye/Ankara, Turkey
Hanefi Özbek
- Yüzüncü Yýl University Medical Faculty, Department of Pharmacology, Van, Turkey
Hasan Serdar Öztürk
- Ankara University, Medical Faculty, Department of Biochemistry, 06100 Sihhiye/Ankara, Turkey

Received 10 June 2003; received in revised form 17 November 2003; accepted 6 January 2004.

Abstract

Effects of garlic extract supplementation on blood lipid profile and oxidant/antioxidant status were investigated in volunteer subjects with high blood cholesterol. A total of 23 volunteer subjects with high blood cholesterol (>5.98 mmol/L) participated in the study. Of them, 13 patients were evaluated as a hypertensive group and the others a normotensive group. Before (first sample) and after (second sample) garlic extract consumption for 4 months, routine blood analyses including lipid parameters and liver and kidney function tests were performed. Additionally, blood oxidant (malondialdehyde [MDA], oxidation resistance [OR]), and antioxidant (antioxidant potential [AOP], nonenzymatic superoxide radical scavenger activity [NSSA]) parameters were measured. Serum total cholesterol, low-density lipoprotein (LDL) and very–low-density lipoprotein (VLDL) cholesterols, and triglyceride levels were found to be significantly lowered, but HDL high-density lipoprotein cholesterol level increased after the extract use. The total:HDL cholesterol ratio was also found to be significantly decreased after the extract use. There were no meaningful differences with regard to other routine biochemical parameters. Additionally, blood AOP, OR, and NSSA values were found increased and MDA level decreased in the second samples relative to the first ones. Systolic and diastolic blood pressure values were also found to be significantly lowered after extract supplementation in the hypertensive group, but no similar changes were observed in the normotensive group. We conclude that garlic extract supplementation improves blood lipid profile, strengthens blood antioxidant potential, and causes significant reductions in systolic and diastolic blood pressures. It also leads to a decrease in the level of oxidation product (MDA) in the blood samples, which demonstrates reduced oxidation reactions in the body.

Keywords: Garlic, Cholesterol, Antioxidant, Oxidation, Hypertension