The evidence for the beneficial effect of garlic use on blood pressure is lacking 3. Hypertension is a common chronic disease with significant adverse health and economic consequence for the patient and the health care delivery systems. A cheap and simple measure such as the increased use of garlic in the diet, if proven to be effective may go a long way in reducing morbidity and mortality from this chronic condition in the developed and the developing countries. However, we must not forget that the possibility of toxicity resulting from acute and chronic ingestion of large amounts of garlic remains unresolved’. Further studies are needed in this area. The use of herbal therapies is on the rise in the United States. Potentially safe herbs include garlic for hypertension. hyperlipidaem ia and infections 6. We expect the use of garlic to go up in the developing countries as well and therefore evaluating the place for the use of garlic in prevention and treatment of hypertension needs validation. In an interventional study tlìe supine diastolic blood pressure in the group having garlic treatment fell from 1 02 to 9 1 mm ug after eight weeks (p <0.05) and to 85 mmHg after 12 weeks (p <0.01). No significant change was observed in the placebo group 7. Because o small sample size, the conclusions of the study stand disputed. Another interventional study conducted in rats indicate that garlic is effective as a natural agent for the treatment of hypertension, and reduces systolic blood pressure markedly 8. The effects of long-term dietary application of garlic or linseed oil as well as a combination of bothinterventions were studied on the life span of hypertensive rats. The systolic blood pressure was significantly lowered by both garlic (mean 5.8 mmHg). linseed oil (mean 6.3 mmHg) and their combination (mean 11 .3 mmHg)9. This needs validation in human subjects. Garlic indirectly effects atherosclerosis by reduction of hyperlipidemia, hypertension. and probably diabetes mellitus and prevents thrombus formation 10 Standardized preparations guarantee exact dosing and minimize the problem of the strong odor of raw garlic11 A garlic preparation containing 1 .3% allicin at a large dose (2400mg) was given to nine patients with diastolic blood pressure> 115 mmHg. A significant fall in diastolic blood pressure (P< 0.05) was noted12 All of the studies quoted so far have failed to conclusively prove that the dietary use of garlic has any effect on the blood pressure in humans. This has been a pilot study. The manner in which the dietary intake of garlic has been estimated is crude and the sample size may not be sufficient enough to draw statistical conclusions with certainty, but the results do show a favorable impact of dietary use garlic on blood pressure in humans. Despite extensive research on the role of garlic intake on blood pressure in humans, our finding suggests and we strongly recommend further trials in this interesting and promising area of herbal medicine.
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