GARLIC INGESTION BY PREGNANT-WOMEN ALTERS THE ODOR OF AMNIOTIC-FLUID

Amniotic fluid samples were obtained from 10 pregnant women undergoing routine amniocentesis procedure. Approximately 45 min prior to the pr ocedure, five of the women ingested placebo capsules, whereas the rema ining five ingested capsules containing the essential oil of garlic. R andomly selected pairs of samples, one from a woman who ingested garli c and the other from a woman who ingested placebo capsules, were then evaluated by a sensory panel of adults. The odor of the amniotic fluid obtained from four of the five women who had ingested the garlic caps ules was judged to be stronger or more like garlic than the paired sam ples collected from the women consuming placebo capsules. Thus, garlic ingestion by pregnant women significantly alters the odor of their am niotic fluid.