Effect of Garlic on Dyslipidemic Patients with Diabetes Mellitus (Type 2)

Abstract

Back ground: Garlic ( Allium sativum ) has been used in herbal medicine for treatment of cardiovascular diseases risk factors such as serum lipids , blood pressure and plasma viscosity . Aim: The aim of present study is to evaluate the effects of garlic on one of the major cardiovascular risk factors which is dyslipidemia in patients with type 2 diabetes mellitus . Materials and Methods: Type 2 diabetic patients with dyslipidemia were enrolled in this study. It covered 50 patients (35 males and 15 females) whose ages ranged between (40 – 75) years. Twenty clinically healthy individuals were included as a control group at the same above ages. Diabetic patients given garlic for period of 6 weeks and 12 weeks after which their serum lipid profiles where measured after fasting for 12 hours and comparisons was made between the treated and untreated patients . Results: It was found that the patients had a significant reduction in both total cholesterol (TC) and triglycerides (TG) (the main contributing factors to arteriosclerosis) in comparisons to the control group. The administration of garlic ( 1000 mg ) lowers the levels of low density lipoproteins cholesterol ( LDL – C ) and raise the concentrations of high density lipoproteins cholesterol (HDL – C) and so for the very low density lipoproteins cholesterol (VLDL–C) if compared with that of the control group . Conclusion: Garlic may play an important role in the treatment of dyslipidemic patients with type 2 diabetes mellitus.