GARLIC POWDER AND PLASMA-LIPIDS AND LIPOPROTEINS - A MULTICENTER, RANDOMIZED, PLACEBO-CONTROLLED TRIAL

Background: Garlic powder tablets have been reported to lower serum ch olesterol levels. There is widespread belief among the general public that garlic powder tablets aid in controlling cholesterol levels. Howe ver, much of the prior data demonstrating the cholesterol-lowering eff ect of garlic tablets involved studies that were inadequately controll ed. Objective: To determine the lipid-lowering effect of garlic powder tablets in patients with hypercholesterolemia. Methods: This was a ra ndomized, double-blind, placebo-controlled, 12-week, parallel treatmen t study carried out in 2 outpatient lipid clinics. Entry into the stud y after 8 weeks of diet stabilization required a mean low-density lipo protein cholesterol level on 2 visits of 4.1 mmol/L (160 mg/dL) or low er and a triglyceride level of 4.0 mmol/L (350 mg/dL) or lower. The ac tive treatment arm received tablets containing 300 mg of garlic powder (Kwai) 3 times per day, given with meals (total, 900 mg/d). This is e quivalent to approximately 2.7 g or approximately 1 clove of fresh gar lic per day. The placebo arm received an identical-looking tablet, als o given 3 times per day with meals. The main outcome measures included levels of total cholesterol, triglycerides, low-density lipoprotein c holesterol, and high-density lipoprotein cholesterol after 12 weeks of treatment. Results: Twenty-eight patients (43% male; mean +/- SD age, 58 +/- 14 years) received garlic powder treatment and 22 (68% male; m ean +/- SD age, 57 +/- 13 years) received placebo treatment. There wer e no significant lipid or lipoprotein changes in either the placebo-or garlic-treated groups and no significant difference between changes i n the placebo-treated group compared with changes in the garlic-treate d patients. Conclusion: Garlic powder (900 mg/d) treatment for 12 week s was ineffective in lowering cholesterol levels in patients with hype rcholesterolemia.