Effects of an Optimized Aged Garlic Extract on Cardiovascular Disease Risk Factors in Moderate Hypercholesterolemic Subjects: A Randomized, Crossover, Double-Blind, Sustainedand Controlled Study.

Rosa M Valls,Alberto E Espinel,Lorena Calderón-Pérez,Antoni Caimari,Anna Crescenti,Rosa Solà,Anna Pedret,Patricia Salamanca,Antonio Bueno,Laura Pla-Pagà,Berner Andrée Sandoval-Ramírez,Lluís Arola,Aurora Salamanca,Josep M Del Bas,Jose Puzo,Judit Companys

doi:10.3390/nu14030405

Abstract

The consumption of aged black garlic (ABG) has been related to improvements in several cardiovascular disease (CVD) risk factors. However, the extent of the beneficial effects depends on the garlic aging process and the amount and type of chemical compounds accumulated. The main objective of this study was to assess the effect of daily intake of a well-characterized ABG extract with a standardized S-allyl-L-cysteine (SAC) yield in combination with dietary recommendations regarding CVD risk factors in individuals with moderate hypercholesterolemia. Sixty-seven hypercholesterolemic individuals with low-density lipoprotein cholesterol levels ≥115 mg/dL were randomized in a crossover, double-blind, sustained, and controlled intervention study. The participants consumed 250 mg (1.25 mg SAC)/tablet/day ABG or a placebo for 6 weeks, with 3 weeks of washout. Blood and pulse pressure and other CVD risk biomarkers were determined at the beginning and end of each intervention. At 6 weeks, ABG extract reduced diastolic blood pressure (DBP) (mean (95% CI) −5.85 (−10.5; −1.3) mm Hg) compared to the placebo, particularly in men with a DBP > 75 mm Hg. The consumption of an improved ABG extract with 1.25 mg of SAC decreased DBP, particularly in men with moderate hypercholesterolemia. The potential beneficial effects of ABG may contribute to obtaining an optimal DBP.

Highlights

One of the most characteristic components of the Mediterranean diet is garlic (Allium sativum L.), which has been found to have protective properties against cardiovascular disease (CVD) risk factors, among other health effects, as recognized by international authorities [1,2].Since ancient times, aged garlic has been produced with milder organoleptic characteristics than commonly consumed fresh garlic and interesting beneficial health effects
The results show improvements in different health parameters, most of which were related to cardiovascular function: blood pressure, blood cholesterol levels, and atherosclerosis [18]
In the present study, which was carried out with moderately hypercholesterolemic subjects, daily consumption of aged garlic extract containing 1.25 mg SAC (ABG extract) improved diastolic blood pressure (DBP) compared with placebo consumption, in men and in individuals with a baseline DBP higher than 75 mm Hg, by a mean of −4.82 (−9.7; −0.02) mm Hg

Summary

Introduction

Since ancient times, aged garlic has been produced with milder organoleptic characteristics than commonly consumed fresh garlic and interesting beneficial health effects. The production of aged black garlic (ABG) for health applications consists of a treatment (sometimes called “fermentation”) of the fresh garlic bulb at high temperature and controlled humidity for a period of weeks to several months. The main organosulfur compounds in fresh garlic (i.e., alliin and allicin) are downregulated by inactivation of alliinase and thermal degradation of the products [8,9,10]. Polysulfides, such as diallyl sulfide, diallyl disulfide, diallyl trisulfide, dithiins, and ajoene, appear after decomposition of allicin [11]. S-allyl-L-cysteine (SAC), which is virtually absent in fresh garlic, is synthetized and initially upregulated by deglutamylation of γ-glutamyl-S-allyl-cysteine and reaches several times higher concentrations than those in fresh tissues before its progressive catabolism to other compounds [12]

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