Independent beneficial effects of aged garlic extract intake with regular exercise on cardiovascular risk in postmenopausal women.
The purpose of the study was to assess the effects of a 12 weeks aged garlic extract (AGE) regimen with regular exercise on cardiovascular disease (CVD) risk in postmenopausal women. A total of 30 postmenopausal women (54.4 ± 5.4 years) were randomly divided into the following four groups: Placebo (Placebo; n = 6), AGE intake (AGEI; n = 8), exercise and placebo (Ex + Placebo; n = 8), exercise and AGE (Ex + AGE; n = 8) groups. The AGE group consume 80 mg per day, and exercise groups performed moderate exercise (aerobic and resistance) three times per week. After 12 weeks of treatment, body composition, lipid profile, and CVD risk factors were analyzed. Body weight was significantly decreased in AGEI, Ex + Placebo, and Ex + AGE groups compared to baseline. Body fat % was significantly decreased in the AGEI and Ex + Placebo groups. Body mass index (BMI) was significantly decreased in the AGEI, Ex + Placebo, and Ex + AGE groups. Fat-free mass was significantly decreased in the AGEI group. Total cholesterol (TC) was significantly lower in the Ex + Placebo compared to the Placebo group. AGE supplementation or exercise effectively reduced low-density lipoprotein (LDL-C). Triglyceride (TG) was significantly increased in the AGEI group. Malondialdehyde (MDA) levels were significantly decreased in the AGEI, Ex + Placebo, and Ex + AGE compared to the placebo group. AGE supplementation reduced homocysteine levels regardless of whether the women also exercised. The present results suggest that AGE supplementation reduces cardiovascular risk factors independently of exercise in postmenopausal women.
National Research Laboratory for Mitochondrial Signaling, Department of Physiology, College of Medicine, Cardiovascular and Metabolic Disease Center, Inje University, 633-165, Gaegeum-dong, Busanjin-gu, Busan 614-735, Korea.
Dae Yun
DY
Seo
Sung Ryul
SR
Lee
Hyoung Kyu
HK
Kim
Yeong Ho
YH
Baek
Yi Sub
YS
Kwak
Tae Hee
TH
Ko
Nari
N
Kim
Byoung Doo
BD
Rhee
Kyoung Soo
KS
Ko
Byung Joo
BJ
Park
Jin
J
Han