Garlic, Allium Sativum, has a long history of medicinal use by cultures around the world. It has been used
in the traditional medical to reduce the risk of several diseases, mainly of the cardiovascular
system. It is believed that garlic exerts preventative rather than curative effects.
Compounds from these plants with proven results may then be synthesized in large amount
commercially for wider circulation throughout the world for global marketing. So the
present study was planned to investigate the prophylactic efficacy of garlic extract
on atherosclerosis. Fifty-six white wistar rats with the same age and average weight
of 250 grams were selected in this study. Rats were randomly divided into eight groups.
They received high cholesterol diet plus garlic and garlic tablet daily in different
dosages for four months. Control group received only high cholesterol diet. At the
end of the study, they anesthetized with ether and blood samples were taken. Then
they euthanized and dissected for sampling from carotid, aorta and liver. The results
from this study showed that garlic and garlic tablet administration cause a significant
decrease in cholesterol levels and LDL/HDL ratio, but triglyceride levels did not
show any significant changes. The histopathology results showed that garlic and garlic
tablet administration caused a significant decrease in atherosclerosis incidence in
cholesterol fed rats. So it could be concluded that garlic and garlic tablet have
beneficial effects on cholesterol reduction and reducing the rate and intensity of
atherosclerosis in high cholesterol diets.
