title: Garlic powder intake and cardiovascular risk factors: a meta-analysis of randomized controlled clinical trials.
abstract: OBJECTIVE
  Although preclinical studies suggest that garlic has potential preventive effects on cardiovascular disease (CVD) risk factors, clinical trials and reports from systematic reviews or meta-analyses present inconsistent results. The contradiction might be attributed to variations in the manufacturing process that can markedly influence the composition of garlic products. To investigate this issue further, we performed a meta-analysis of the effects of garlic powder on CVD risk factors.
  
  
  METHODS
  We searched PubMed, Cochrane, Science Direct and EMBASE through May 2014. A random-effects meta-analysis was performed on 22 trials reporting total cholesterol (TC), 17 trials reporting LDL cholesterol (LDL-C), 18 trials reporting HDL cholesterol (HDL-C), 4 trials reporting fasting blood glucose (FBG), 9 trials reporting systolic blood pressure (SBP) and 10 trials reporting diastolic blood pressure (DBP).
  
  
  RESULTS
  The overall garlic powder intake significantly reduced blood TC and LDL-C by -0.41 mmol/L (95% confidence interval [CI], -0.69, -0.12) (-15.83 mg/dL [95% CI, -26.64, -4.63]) and -0.21 mmol/L (95% CI, -0.40, -0.03) (-8.11 mg/dL [95% CI, -15.44, -1.16]), respectively. The mean difference in the reduction of FBG levels was -0.96 mmol/L (95% CI, -1.91, -0.01) (-17.30 mg/dL [95% CI, -34.41, -0.18]). Evidence for SBP and DBP reduction in the garlic supplementation group was also demonstrated by decreases of -4.34 mmHg (95% CI, -8.38, -0.29) and -2.36 mmHg (95% CI, -4.56, -0.15), respectively.
  
  
  CONCLUSIONS
  This meta-analysis provides consistent evidence that garlic powder intake reduces the CVD risk factors of TC, LDL-C, FBG and BP.
authors.affiliation: Department of Nutritional Science and Food Management, Ewha Womans University, 52, Ewhayeodae-gil, Seodaemun-gu, Seoul 120-750, Korea.
authors.forename: Jin Sook
authors.initials: JS
authors.lastname: Kwak
authors.affiliation: Department of Food Science and Technology, Seoul National University of Science and Technology, Seoul 139-743, Korea.
authors.forename: Ji Yeon
authors.initials: JY
authors.lastname: Kim
authors.affiliation: Department of Nutritional Science and Food Management, Ewha Womans University, 52, Ewhayeodae-gil, Seodaemun-gu, Seoul 120-750, Korea.
authors.forename: Ju Eun
authors.initials: JE
authors.lastname: Paek
authors.affiliation: Department of Nutritional Science and Food Management, Ewha Womans University, 52, Ewhayeodae-gil, Seodaemun-gu, Seoul 120-750, Korea.
authors.forename: You Jin
authors.initials: YJ
authors.lastname: Lee
authors.affiliation: Department of Agrofood Resources, Rural Development Administration, Jeonbuk 565-851, Korea.
authors.forename: Haeng-Ran
authors.initials: HR
authors.lastname: Kim
authors.affiliation: Department of Agrofood Resources, Rural Development Administration, Jeonbuk 565-851, Korea.
authors.forename: Dong-Sik
authors.initials: DS
authors.lastname: Park
authors.affiliation: Department of Nutritional Science and Food Management, Ewha Womans University, 52, Ewhayeodae-gil, Seodaemun-gu, Seoul 120-750, Korea. ; BioFood Network, Ewha Womans University, 52, Ewhayeodae-gil, Seodaemun-gu, Seoul 120-750, Korea.
authors.forename: Oran
authors.initials: O
authors.lastname: Kwon
keywords: Allium sativum; CVD risk factor; garlic; meta-analysis; systematic review