CARDIOPROTECTIVE ACTIVITY

OF ALLIUM SATIVUM
*CH.ROHINI, V.VANI
YALAMARTY COLLEGE

ATHEROSCLEROSIS :
 It is a complex & most frequent disease,characterised by patchy
intimal plaques(ATHEROMAS) that protrude on the lumen of
medium sized & large arteries.
 Atherosclerotic plaques has three principle components :
 Cells – SMC’s,Macrophages,Other Leukocytes.
 Extracellular Matrix – Collagen,Elastic Fibers
 Lipids – Intracellular & Extracellular

STAGES OF ATHEROSCLEROSIS

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CAUSES : SIGNS & SYMPTOMS :
 Hyperlipidemia Initially asymptomatic, it shows its
 Diabetes symptoms when lesions impede
 Smoking blood flow.
 Stress Transient ischemic symptoms may
 Obesity develop when stable plaques grow
 Age & reduce the arterial lumen.
 Family history

GARLIC AS CARDIOPROTECTIVE AGENT :

 Allium sativum acquired a reputation in the folklore of many
cultures over centuries as a formidable prophylactic &
therapeutic agent.
 It acts by
1.Reduction of risk factors for cardiovascular dieases ,cancer
2.Stimulation of Immune function
3.Enhanced detoxification of foreign compound
4.Hepatoprotection

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 5.Antimicrobial effect
HISTORICAL PERSPECTIVE OF ALLIUM
SATIVUM :
 If folk wisdom is not ignored,it may teach us valuable lessons
regarding its role in health & disease.
 In Ancient Egyptians medical text “ codex ebers” it is
mentioned as important medicine.
 During earliest Olympics in Greece, it was fed to Athletes for
increasing stamina.
 The leading Indian ancient medical text, “ charaka-samhita”it is
recommended for treatment of heart disease & Arthritis for over
many centuries.
 In “ Bower manuscript”, it was used to treat Fatigue,
parasitic disease, Digestive disorder, Leprosy.

Allium sativum – Family : Amaryllidaceae

ALLIUM SATIVUM PREPARATION :
 Raw Allium sativum homogenate has been the major
preparation which is subjected to intensive scientific study, as it
the commonest way of consumption.

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  It is essentially same as Aqueous extract of Allium sativum.
 Another widely studied Allium sativum preparation is Aged
Garlic extract (AGE) – that is sliced raw Allium sativum stored
in 15-20 % Ethanol for 20 months
 Medicinally used Garlic oil is prepared by Steam Distillation.
CHEMICAL COMPOUNDS OF ALLIUM SATIVUM
 ALLICIN is the principle bioactive compound present in
Aqueous garlic extract or Raw garlic homogenate.
 When garlic chopped or crushed, Allinase enzyme, present in
garlic, is activated & acts on Allin to produce Allicin.
 Sulfur containing compounds are Allyl methyl thiosulfonate, 1-
propenyl allyl thiosulfonate.

PRE-CLINICAL STUDIES :
 Several groups of investigators studied effects of long term (2-9
months)feeding of garlic & garlic preparations (2% powder in
diet) on experimental Atherosclerosis induced by a high-
cholesterol diet in rabbits & mice.
 Most of these studies reported statistically significant reduction
in Atheromatous lesions, mainly in Aorta, averaged about 50%
due to presence of active component Allicin.

CLINICAL STUDIES :

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  Since 1975, there have been many clinical studies on lipid
lowering effects of Garlic & Garlic preparation.
 Most studies showed significant decrease in serum cholesterol &
serum triglyceride.
 Warshafsky & his colleagues deduced from 5 randomized trials
that hypercholesterolemic patients treated with Garlic shows
better results than that of patients teated with placebo.
 In more recent meta- analysis of 13 trials, Garlic reduced total
cholesterol level from baseline significantly more than placebo.

RESULTS :
 Protective effect of Garlic on Atherosclerosis has been attributed
to its capacity to reduce lipid content in arterial wall.
 Garlic causes direct Antiatherogenic & Antiatherosclerotic
(Allicin), effects at the level of Artery wall.
 Invitro studies revealed that water soluble organosulfur
compounds like S-allyl cysteine in AGE& Diallyl-di-sulfide in
Garlic oil are potent inhibitors of cholesterol synthesis.

CONCLUSION :
 Dietary factors play key role in development of various human
diseases, including cardiovascular diseases.
 Epidemiological studies shows an inverse correlation between
Garlic consumption & reduced risk of cardiovascular diseases
progression.
 The wealth of science literature supports the proposal that Galic
consumption have significant cardioprotective effect, which
include both pre-clinical & clinical studies.

REFERENCE :
 Lawson LD : Garlic : a review of its medicinal effects &
indicated active compounds.
 Berthold HK,Sudhop T : Garlic preparations for prevention
of Atherosclerosis.

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