EFFECT OF GARLIC OIL ON ERYTHROCYTE-MEMBRANE PHOSPHOLIPID FRACTIONS IN HYPERCHOLESTEROLEMIC DOGS

We studied the effects of a cholesterol diet alone and of a cholestero l diet plus garlic oil on erythrocyte membrane phospholipid fractions in 10 adult mongrel dogs. The animals were fed the control diet plus 0 .5% cholesterol for 6 weeks and the control diet containing 5% cholest erol plus garlic oil at 20 mg kg(-1) body weight daily for the last 3 weeks of the experiment. Feeding with the cholesterol-rich diet result ed in significant (p < 0.05) increases in erythrocyte membrane lipids. The administration of garlic oil not only prevented the increases but also reduced the levels of phospholipid and cholesterol, though not s ignificantly. Although phospholipid (PL) fractions showed fluctuations with the cholesterol feeding and garlic oil administration, there was no significant difference between the sampling times. In conclusion, further studies are necessary on the effect of garlic on the membrane PL fractions because of the importance of PL in all aspects of membran e physiology from anion transport to regulation of cell structure.