Effects of garlic extract consumption on plasma and erythrocyte antioxidant parameters in atherosclerotic patients.
Effects of ingesting garlic extract on plasma and erythrocyte antioxidant parameters of atherosclerotic patients were investigated in this study. Eleven patients with atherosclerosis participated in the study. They ingested a dose of 1 ml/kg body weight of garlic extract daily for 6 months (study period). Before and after this period, fasting blood samples were obtained, and oxidant (malondialdehyde, MDA and xanthine oxidase, XO) and antioxidant (superoxide dismutase, SOD and glutathione peroxidase, GSH-Px) parameters were studied in plasma and erythrocytes obtained from the patients. Blood samples obtained from 11 healthy subjects served as the controls. Plasma XO activity and MDA levels were higher, but plasma and erythrocyte GSH-Px activities were lower, in patients with atherosclerosis relative to those of the control group. Our results showed that ingestion of garlic extract leads to significantly lowered plasma and erythrocyte MDA levels in the patients even in the absence of changes in antioxidant enzyme activities. Our results also demonstrated the presence of oxidant stress in blood samples from patients with atherosclerosis, but ingesting garlic extract prevented oxidation reactions by eliminating this oxidant stress. Thus, it is possible that reduced peroxidation processes may play a part in some of the beneficial effects of garlic in atherosclerotic diseases.
Durak
Ilker
I
Ankara University School of Medicine, Department of Biochemistry, Turkey. ilker_durak@yahoo.com
Aytaç
Bilal
B
Atmaca
Yusuf
Y
Devrim
Erdinç
E
Avci
Aslihan
A
Erol
Cetin
C
Oral
Derviş
D
D000368:Aged; D001161:Arteriosclerosis / Q000097:blood / Q000378:metabolism* / Q000503:physiopathology; D004912:Erythrocytes / Q000378:metabolism; D005260:Female; D005737:Garlic / Q000737:chemistry*; D005979:Glutathione Peroxidase / Q000097:blood; D006801:Humans; D015227:Lipid Peroxidation / Q000187:drug effects*; D008297:Male; D008315:Malondialdehyde / Q000097:blood; D008875:Middle Aged; D010936:Plant Extracts / Q000494:pharmacology; D018709:Statistics, Nonparametric; D013482:Superoxide Dismutase / Q000097:blood; D017392:Thiobarbituric Acid Reactive Substances; D014969:Xanthine Oxidase / Q000097:blood
D010936:Plant Extracts; D017392:Thiobarbituric Acid Reactive Substances; D008315:Malondialdehyde; D005979:Glutathione Peroxidase; D013482:Superoxide Dismutase; D014969:Xanthine Oxidase