Effect of Garlic Oil (Allium Sativum) on Glycaemic Control and Lipid Profile in Patients with Type 2 Diabetes Mellitus

Abstract

Herbal medicines are widely used because of their convenience, less side effects and low cost, so investigation on such agents from traditional medicinal plants has become more important in present day studies on medical sciences. Garlic is one of the most popular herbs used in the traditional medicine of many cultures for the treatment of diabetes. The medicinal use of garlic dates back to thousands of years. Historically, there has been great interest in the role of garlic in reducing cardiovascular risk factors, but there was little scientific support of its therapeutic and pharmacologic effectiveness until recently. The present study was conducted to assess the effect of garlic on metabolic control and lipid profile in type 2 diabetic patients. Fifty nine patients with type 2 diabetes mellitus and newly diagnosed dyslipidaemia were enrolled in this study. A full history and complete physical examination was performed. Those patients were not taking any medication for the treatment of their disease a part from dietary modification and they are disease free other than diabetes. Type 2 diabetic patients were followed up for 12weeks and divided randomly into 2 groups. Group I(n=26) no drug was given and designed as diabetic control group . Group II(n=33) underwent treatment with 500mg garlic extract soft gel two times daily for 12 weeks and designated as diabetic treated group . From fifty nine patients participated in this study, fifty five patients reached the end of the study while four patients withdrew (one patient from group I and three patients group II) . Blood samples were drawn from the patients at the beginning and after 12weeks of follow up for testing fasting blood glucose, 2hours postprandial blood sugar and lipid profile including total cholesterol(TC), triglyceride(TG), low density lipoprotein(LDL-C), high density lipoprotein(HDL-C) and very low density lipoprotein(VLDL-C) . Renal and liver functions were also assessed . This study revealed the following results: fasting blood glucose, TC and LDL-C were highly significantly reduced (p<0.01) and HDL-C was significantly increased (p<0.05) while 2hours postprandial blood glucose, triglyceride and VLDL-C show insignificant reduction (p>0.05) in garlic treated group before and after 12weeks of follow up . Furthermore, garlic consumption caused a highly significant reduction (p<0.01) in fasting blood glucose, 2hours postprandial blood sugar, total cholesterol and LDL-C and a significant decrement (p<0.05) in triglyceride and VLDL-C whereas HDL-C revealed a significant increment (p<0.05) at the end of 12weeks in comparison to dyslipidaemic diabetic control group . In conclusion, garlic exerts anti-hyperglyaemic and lipid lowering effects, suggesting that garlic could be used as a supplementary drug for the treatment of patients with diabetes and dyslipidaemia preventing diabetic complications.