Effect of garlic powder consumption on body composition in patients with nonalcoholic fatty liver disease: A randomized, double-blind, placebo-controlled trial

Soleimani, Davood; Paknahad, Zamzam; Askari, Gholamreza; Iraj, Bijan; Feizi, Awat

Effect of garlic powder consumption on body composition in patients with nonalcoholic fatty liver disease: A randomized, double-blind, placebo-controlled trial

Authors

¹ Food Security Research Center, Isfahan University of Medical Sciences, Isfahan, Iran

² Food Security Research Center; Department of Clinical Nutrition, Isfahan University of Medical Sciences, Isfahan, Iran

³ Department of Community Nutrition, Faculty of Nutrition and Food Sciences; Isfahan Endocrine and Metabolism Research Center, Isfahan University of Medical Sciences, Isfahan, Iran

⁴ Isfahan Endocrine and Metabolism Research Center, Isfahan University of Medical Sciences, Isfahan, Iran

⁵ Department of Epidemiology and Biostatistics, Faculty of Health, Isfahan University of Medical Sciences, Isfahan, Iran

Abstract

Background: Nonalcoholic fatty liver disease (NAFLD) is the most common chronic liver disease that is becoming a public health problem in recent decades. Obesity and overweight play a key role in NAFLD pathogenesis. Thus, weight loss (especially body fat mass) is one component of therapeutic strategies in NAFLD. Results from experimental studies have shown that garlic (Allium sativum L.) can reduce body weight and body fat mass. However, the effect of garlic on body fat mass and weight in the human population, which is addressed in this study, is still obscure.
Materials and Methods: In this clinical trial, 110 subjects with NAFLD were randomly assigned to the intervention or the control group. The intervention group received two garlic tablets (containing 400 mg of garlic powder) daily while the control group received placebo tablets. Dietary intake and physical activity of participants were obtained by a validated questionnaire. Body composition was measured by bioelectrical impedance analysis. Data were analyzed using SPSS software version 16.
Results: In the intervention group, significant reductions were observed in body weight and body fat mass (P < 0.05). We also observed a significant reduction in body weight in the control group, but there were no significant changes in total body water and lean body mass in both groups (P > 0.05). In the intervention group, the percentage change in body weight was significantly greater than the control group (−2.6 vs. −0.7, P = 0.02). No serious side effects associated with the intervention were reported.
Conclusion: Our trial suggests that garlic supplementation can reduce body weight and fat mass among subjects with NAFLD.

Keywords

References

1.	Neuschwander-Tetri BA, Caldwell SH. Nonalcoholic steatohepatitis: Summary of an AASLD Single Topic Conference. Hepatology 2003;37:1202-19.
2.	Zivkovic AM, German JB, Sanyal AJ. Comparative review of diets for the metabolic syndrome: Implications for nonalcoholic fatty liver disease. Am J Clin Nutr 2007;86:285-300.
3.	Pang Q, Zhang JY, Song SD, Qu K, Xu XS, Liu SS, et al. Central obesity and nonalcoholic fatty liver disease risk after adjusting for body mass index. World J Gastroenterol 2015;21:1650-62.
4.	Bedogni G, Miglioli L, Masutti F, Tiribelli C, Marchesini G, Bellentani S. Prevalence of and risk factors for nonalcoholic fatty liver disease: The dionysos nutrition and liver study. Hepatology 2005;42:44-52.
5.	Patel S, Lawlor DA, Ferreira DL, Hughes AD, Chaturvedi N, Callaway M, et al. The association of nonalcoholic fatty liver disease with central and peripheral blood pressure in adolescence: Findings from a cross-sectional study. J Hypertens 2015;33:546-52.
6.	Chatrath H, Vuppalanchi R, Chalasani N. Dyslipidemia in patients with nonalcoholic fatty liver disease. Semin Liver Dis 2012;32:22-9.
7.	Bellentani S, Scaglioni F, Marino M, Bedogni G. Epidemiology of non-alcoholic fatty liver disease. Dig Dis 2010;28:155-61.
8.	Torres DM, Harrison SA. Diagnosis and therapy of nonalcoholic steatohepatitis. Gastroenterology 2008;134:1682-98.
9.	Yki-Järvinen H. Nutritional modulation of nonalcoholic fatty liver disease and insulin resistance: Human data. Curr Opin Clin Nut Metab Care 2010; 13:709-14.
10.	Kramer CK. Weight loss is a useful therapeutic objective. Can J Cardiol 2015;31:211-5.
11.	Sasaki A, Nitta H, Otsuka K, Umemura A, Baba S, Obuchi T, et al. Bariatric surgery and non-alcoholic fatty liver disease: Current and potential future treatments. Front Endocrinol (Lausanne) 2014;5:164.
12.	Stern JS, Peerson J, Mishra AT, Sadasiva Rao MV, Rajeswari KP. Efficacy and tolerability of a novel herbal formulation for weight management. Obesity (Silver Spring) 2013;21:921-7.
13.	Rivlin RS. Historical perspective on the use of garlic. J Nutr 2001;131 (3 Suppl):951S-4.
14.	Zhang Y, Yao HP, Huang FF, Wu W, Gao Y, Chen ZB, et al. Allicin, a major component of garlic, inhibits apoptosis in vital organs in rats with trauma/hemorrhagic shock. Crit Care Med 2008;36:3226-32.
15.	Sobenin IA, Pryanishnikov VV, Kunnova LM, Rabinovich YA, Martirosyan DM, Orekhov AN. The effects of time-released garlic powder tablets on multifunctional cardiovascular risk in patients with coronary artery disease. Lipids Health Dis 2010;9:119.
16.	Kim EJ, Lee DH, Kim HJ, Lee SJ, Ban JO, Cho MC, et al. Thiacremonone, a sulfur compound isolated from garlic, attenuates lipid accumulation partially mediated via AMPK activation in 3T3-L1 adipocytes. J Nutr Biochem 2012;23:1552-8.
17.	Han CY, Ki SH, Kim YW, Noh K, Lee da Y, Kang B, et al. Ajoene, a stable garlic by-product, inhibits high fat diet-induced hepatic steatosis and oxidative injury through LKB1-dependent AMPK activation. Antioxid Redox Signal 2011;14:187-202.
18.	Lee MS, Kim IH, Kim CT, Kim Y. Reduction of body weight by dietary garlic is associated with an increase in uncoupling protein mRNA expression and activation of AMP-activated protein kinase in diet-induced obese mice. J Nutr 2011;141:1947-53.
19.	Nyamathi A, Sinha S, Ganguly KK, Ramakrishna P, Suresh P, Carpenter CL. Impact of protein supplementation and care and support on body composition and CD4 count among HIV-infected women living in rural India: Results from a randomized pilot clinical trial. AIDS Behav 2013;17:2011-21.
20.	Kim HC, Nam CM, Jee SH, Han KH, Oh DK, Suh I. Normal serum aminotransferase concentration and risk of mortality from liver diseases: Prospective cohort study. BMJ 2004;328:983.
21.	Turner B, Mølgaard C, Marckmann P. Effect of garlic (Allium sativum) powder tablets on serum lipids, blood pressure and arterial stiffness in normo-lipidaemic volunteers: A randomised, double-blind, placebo-controlled trial. Br J Nutr 2004;92:701-6.
22.	Mader FH. Treatment of hyperlipidaemia with garlic-powder tablets. Evidence from the German Association of General Practitioners' multicentric placebo-controlled double-blind study. Arzneimittelforschung 1990;40:1111-6.
23.	Braam RL, van Uum SH, Lenders JW, Thien T. Bromide as marker for drug adherence in hypertensive patients. Br J Clin Pharmacol 2008;65:733-6.
24.	Kyle UG, Bosaeus I, De Lorenzo AD, Deurenberg P, Elia M, Gómez JM, et al. Bioelectrical impedance analysis - Part I: Review of principles and methods. Clin Nutr 2004;23:1226-43.
25.	Bioelectrical impedance analysis in body composition measurement: National Institutes of Health Technology Assessment Conference Statement. Am J Clin Nutr 1996;64 3 Suppl: 524S-32.
26.	Hunter GR, Byrne NM, Sirikul B, Fernández JR, Zuckerman PA, Darnell BE, et al. Resistance training conserves fat-free mass and resting energy expenditure following weight loss. Obesity (Silver Spring) 2008;16:1045-51.
27.	Weinheimer EM, Sands LP, Campbell WW. A systematic review of the separate and combined effects of energy restriction and exercise on fat-free mass in middle-aged and older adults: Implications for sarcopenic obesity. Nutr Rev 2010;68:375-88.
28.	Seo DY, Lee SR, Kim HK, Baek YH, Kwak YS, Ko TH, et al. Independent beneficial effects of aged garlic extract intake with regular exercise on cardiovascular risk in postmenopausal women. Nutr Res Pract 2012;6:226-31.
29.	Joo H, Kim CT, Kim IH, Kim Y. Anti-obesity effects of hot water extract and high hydrostatic pressure extract of garlic in rats fed a high-fat diet. Food Chem Toxicol 2013;55:100-5.
30.	Yonezawa T, Kurata R, Hosomichi K, Kono A, Kimura M, Inoko H. Nutritional and hormonal regulation of uncoupling protein 2. IUBMB Life 2009; 61:1123-31.
31.	Oi Y, Kawada T, Kitamura K, Oyama F, Nitta M, Kominato Y, et al. Garlic supplementation enhances norepinephrine secretion, growth of brown adipose tissue, and triglyceride catabolism in rats. J Nutr Biochem 1995; 6:250-5.
32.	Oi Y, Kawada T, Shishido C, Wada K, Kominato Y, Nishimura S, et al. Allyl-containing sulfides in garlic increase uncoupling protein content in brown adipose tissue, and noradrenaline and adrenaline secretion in rats. J Nutr 1999;129:336-42.
33.	Unce DU, Tiryaki G, Nmez S, Unce ML. Effects of garlic on aerobic performance. Turk J Med Sci 2000;30:557-61.
34.	Keophiphath M, Priem F, Jacquemond-Collet I, Clément K, Lacasa D. 1, 2-vinyldithiin from garlic inhibits differentiation and inflammation of human preadipocytes. J Nutr 2009;139:2055-60.
35.	Yang JY, Della-Fera MA, Nelson-Dooley C, Baile CA. Molecular mechanisms of apoptosis induced by ajoene in 3T3-L1 adipocytes. Obesity (Silver Spring) 2006;14:388-97.

Advanced Biomedical Research