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Dose-Dependent Influence of Commercial Garlic (Allium sativum) on Rats Fed Cholesterol-Containing Diet

Shela Gorinstein,* Maria Leontowicz,^† Hanna Leontowicz,^† Zenon Jastrzebski,^‡ Jerzy Drzewiecki,^§ Jacek Namiesnik,^# Zofia Zachwieja, Henryk Barton, Zev Tashma, Elena Katrich, and Simon Trakhtenberg

Department of Medicinal Chemistry and Natural Products, School of Pharmacy, The Hebrew UniversityHadassah Medical School, Jerusalem, Israel; Department of Physiological Sciences, Faculty of Veterinary Medicine, Agricultural University, Warsaw, Poland; Department of Pharmacology, Institute of Public Health, Warsaw, Poland; Plant Breeding and Acclimatization Institute, Radzikow, Poland; Chemical Faculty, Gdansk University of Technology, Gdansk, Poland; Department of Food Chemistry and Nutrition, School of Medicine, The Jagiellonian University, Cracow, Poland; and Kaplan University Medical Center, Rehovot, Israel

J. Agric. Food Chem., 2006, 54 (11), pp 4022–4027

DOI: 10.1021/jf058182+

Publication Date (Web): May 2, 2006

Author to whom correspondence should be addressed (telephone 972-2-6758690; fax 972-2-6757076; e-mail gorin@cc.huji.ac.il). S.G. is affiliated with the David R. Bloom Center for Pharmacy.

The Hebrew University−Hadassah Medical School.

†

Warsaw Agricultural University.

‡

Institute of Public Health, Warsaw.

Plant Breeding and Acclimatization Institute, Radzikow.

Gdansk University of Technology.

The Jagiellonian University.

Kaplan University Medical Center.

Abstract

The aim of this investigation was to evaluate the dose-dependent influence of commercial garlic on rats fed cholesterol-containing diets. It was found that commercial garlic contains high concentrations of dietary fibers, microelements, and total polyphenols, and its total antioxidant capacity as determined by two independent assays [1,1-diphenyl-2-picrylhydrazyl (DPPH) and 2,2‘-azinobis(3-ethylbenzthiazoline-6-sulfonic acid) (ABTS)] was similar to that of the original garlic samples. Wistar rats (35) were randomly divided into five diet groups, named control, Chol, Garlic500, Garlic750, and Garlic1000. Control rats were fed basal diet (BD), which included wheat starch, casein, soybean oil, and vitamin and mineral mixtures. To the BD of the Chol group was added 1% of cholesterol. To the BD of the other three groups (Garlic500, Garlic750, and Garlic1000) were added 1% of cholesterol and commercial garlic equal to 500, 750, and 1000 mg of raw garlic per kilogram of animal weight. After 4 weeks of the experiment only in rats from the Garlic500 group were a significant hindering in the rise in plasma lipids and also a significant hindering in a decrease of plasma antioxidant activity registered. A significant decrease in plasma circulating fibrinogen and an increase in the clotting time were found in the same group of rats (P < 0.05 in both cases). The fibrinogenolytic effect of garlic diets was visualized by sodium dodecyl sulfate−polyacrylamide gel electrophoresis. In the fibrinogen fraction of Garlic500 the 66, 24, and 14 kDa protein bands were detected with weaker protein intensity than in the corresponding ones in the Garlic750 and Garlic1000 diet groups. In conclusion, the positive influences of commercial garlic on plasma lipids, proteins, antioxidant activity, and some indices of blood coagulation are dose-dependent. Therefore, commercial garlic (Elena, Żelazków, Poland) could be a valuable component of atherosclerosis-preventing diets only in optimal doses.

Keywords: Commercial garlic; bioactive compounds; antioxidant potential; rats; plasma lipids; proteins; antioxidant activity; blood coagulation

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