January 22 2016
A randomized, double-blind trial reported online on January 13, 2016 in the Journal of Nutrition found a reduction in vulnerable plaque in the arteries of metabolic syndrome patients who supplemented with aged garlic extract.
Fifty-five men and women between the ages of 40 and 75 years were given 2400 milligrams aged garlic extract or a placebo orally for a year. Cardiac computed tomography angiography screening was conducted at the beginning and end of the treatment period to assess coronary plaque volume, including total plaque volume, dense calcium, noncalcified plaque, and low-attenuation plaque, which is vulnerable to rupture.
At the end of the study, participants who received aged garlic were found to have experienced slower accumulation of total plaque compared to the placebo group, in addition to regression of low-attenuation plaque. "This study is another demonstration of the benefits of this supplement in reducing the accumulation of soft plaque and preventing the formation of new plaque in the arteries, which can cause heart disease," commented lead researcher Matthew J. Budoff, MD, of the Los Angeles Biomedical Research Institute at Harbor–UCLA Medical Center in Torrance, California. "We have completed four randomized studies, and they have led us to conclude that aged garlic extract can help slow the progression of atherosclerosis and reverse the early stages of heart disease."
"This study indicates that the percent low-attenuation plaque change was significantly greater in the aged garlic extract group than in the placebo group," the authors conclude. "Further studies are needed to evaluate whether aged garlic extract has the ability to stabilize vulnerable plaque and decrease adverse cardiovascular events."
