New Research Supports Garlic’s Role In Arresting and Reversing Arteriosclerosis

Newly announced research from Germany shows that garlic can play a role in preventing and potentially reversing or dispersing arteriosclerotic plaque formation. The research was announced during a webcast on Arteriosclerosis and Garlic held Friday, April 29th. The study was conducted by well-known German scientist Günter Siegel M.D., and was also presented at the 6th Annual Conference on Arteriosclerosis, Thrombosis and Vascular Biology held by the American Heart Association later that day in Washington, D.C.¹

Dr. Siegel’s study, “Reduction of Arteriosclerotic Nanoplaque Formation by Garlic Extract,” provides molecular-mechanistic evidence that Kwai^® garlic (Lichtwer Pharma, Berlin), the leading garlic product in Germany, not only prevents the formation of the aggregational molecular complexes that are the building blocks of arterial plaque, but also reverses or disperses the existing plaque. Dr. Siegel and his medical research team investigated in an in vitro biosensor model the influence of Kwai garlic on the very first stages of arteriosclerotic plaque development (nanoplaques), which later on can lead to a number of cardiovascular illnesses, including high blood pressure and stroke. Heart disease is the number one killer of people in industrialized nations. Dr. Siegel’s latest findings clearly show and quantify for the first time that Kwai garlic can reduce the incidence of lipoprotein(a)-induced nanoplaque formation by up to 40% and the size of the nanoplaque itself by up to 20%.

According to a press release² from Abkit Inc., the New York-based distributor of Kwai in the United States, these findings are significant and strongly suggest that Kwai garlic is the first known natural substance to reduce the high arteriosclerotic nanoplaque formation induced by lipoprotein(a) [Lp(a)]. These results, says the press release, combined with 42 human clinical trials using Kwai garlic powder, demonstrate positive effects on various cardiovascular risk factors. For example, a 5-year clinical trial on patients taking 900 mg of Kwai per day resulted in a measurable reversal of plaque build-up in carotid and femoral arteries.³ Furthermore, Dr. Siegel’s research suggests that the benefits of Kwai garlic are comparable to those of HDL (High-Density Lipoprotein, the “good cholesterol”) and, therefore, Kwai garlic, as a “phyto-HDL” (i.e., plant-based agent that has effects similar to HDL) may help prevent heart disease.

“Of course, the results on nanoplaque build-up have to be confirmed in a clinical trial,” said Dr. Siegel. He continued, “A positive outcome of such a study would complement the already existing clinical studies and not only give hope to the millions of men and women especially at risk for cardiovascular disease because they have high cholesterol or blood pressure, or because they are overweight, smoke or engage in low physical activity, but also benefit those with only normal concerns about general cardiovascular health. We expect this research to further garlic’s role as significant in helping medical professionals develop effective natural therapies for reducing cardiovascular risk.”

The key points of Dr. Siegel’s new study, as summarized in the press release, are as follows:

• Normally, the body’s natural HDL prevents the build-up of nanoplaques through hindering the docking of LDL (Low-Density Lipoprotein, i.e. “bad cholesterol”) to its receptor sites in blood vessels or existing plaques. Therefore, high concentrations of LDL and low concentrations of HDL are high risk factors for the development of atherosclerotic plaques.

• State-of-the-art technology showed that LDL-induced nanoplaque formation was reduced by 15 % by Kwai garlic.

• Existing nanoplaques could be dissolved by up to 25 % within 15 minutes after the introduction of Kwai garlic, indicating a reversal of existing problems related to build-up of arterial plaque.

• Kwai garlic can reduce calcification of the cholesterol docking sites in the arteries by up to 50 %. (Dr. Siegel explained that calcium, although a vital mineral for bone formation and other essential physiological processes, is also one of the key factors involved in the formation of plaque.)

Günter Siegel, M.D., is the Director of the Department of Neurophysiology at the Charité University Medical Hospital in Berlin. He is internationally known for his research in the fields of cardiovascular physiology, atherogenesis and the reaction of vascular tissue to a variety of pharmacologically active substances. He has been awarded numerous prestigious commendations, including the Carl Friedrich award from Ruprecht-Karl University in Heidelberg in 1969, the Max Ratschow award from the German Angiology Society in 1984 and the Rudolf Schönheimer Medal from the German Arteriosclerosis Society in 2004. Dr. Siegel served as chair of the German Society for Arteriosclerosis Research from 1996 to 1998 and was elected to membership in the German People’s Study Foundation in 1975. He has published more than 200 papers in international journals and is co-author of Comprehensive Human Physiology (Springer, 1996). He has previously published a paper on his in vitro biosensor model for determining the aggregation of Lp(a) in vascular walls⁴ and the use of garlic preparations to reduce plaque size has been published recently.⁵

Three other herbal and nutritional experts participated in the webcast to announce the new research results:

(1) Joerg Gruenwald, Ph.D. of PhytoPharm Consulting of Berlin, Germany, an internationally ecognized garlic expert and co-editor of the PDR for Herbal Medicines. Dr. Gruenwald explained much of garlic research and how the clinical literature on garlic demonstrates how it can help lower cardiovascular risk factors. Dr. Gruenwald is also one of the key contributors and editors of the garlic monograph produced by the ESCOP (the European Scientific Cooperative on Phytotherapy), a leading academic consortium producing therapeutic monographs on leading herb and phytomedicinal preparations in Europe.

(2) Fred Pescatore, M.D., a physician practicing nutritional medicine in New York City. Dr. Pescatore is former associate medical director at the Atkins Center, as well as the author of numerous popular books: The Hampton’s Diet, Thin For Good, The Allergy and Asthma Cure, and Feed Your Kids Well. Dr. Pescatore described several case histories of his own patients whose cardiovascular risk factors were reduced with the introduction of Kwai garlic in their diets.

(3) Finally, Mark Blumenthal, Founder and Executive Director of the non-profit American Botanical Council, editor of the journal HerbalGram, introduced the webcast and Dr. Siegel. Blumenthal reviewed the position of garlic dietary supplements in the in the U.S. market -- in 2004 they were the top-selling herbal supplement in the mainstream retail channel of trade - a factor which Blumenthal said showed the high consumer recognition of the general benefits of garlic. Blumenthal also gave safety and efficacy data on garlic from the German Commission E monographs (the official evaluation of garlic safety and benefits by the German government) and summary safety and clinical data from clinical trials from ABC’s extensive monograph on the pharmacological and clinical studies on various leading garlic preparations from The ABC Clinical Guide to Herbs, a reference book and continuing education module for health professionals of which Blumenthal is the senior editor.

Recently, a different garlic preparation (Aged Garlic Extract, Kyolic®, Wakunaga, Japan) showed initial success in inhibiting arterial calcification, part of the process involved in plaque formation, in a one-year placebo-controlled pilot study in patients who were also taking statin drugs to control cholesterol levels^.6 The full clinical significance of these findings await a clinical larger trial, just as the full clinical relevance of the in vitro biosensor study described herein awaits confirmation in a clinical trial, as noted by Dr. Siegel above.

References

1. Siegel G et al. Reduction of Arteriosclerotic Nanoplaque Formation by Garlic Extract. 6th Annual Conference on Arteriosclerosis, Thrombosis and Vascular Biology. American Heart Association Annual Conference. Washington, D.C., Apr 29, 2005.

2. Anon. Latest Research Supports Garlic’s Role In Arresting and Reversing Arteriosclerosis: Original Findings Presented at 6th Annual Conference on Arteriosclerosis, Thrombosis and Vascular Biology (press release). ABKIT, INC. May 2, 2005.

3. KoscielnyJ, Klussendorf D, Latza R, Schmitt R, Radtke H, Siegel G, et al. The antiatherosclerotic effect of Allium sativum. Atherosclerosis 1999;144:237-49.

4. Siegel G, Malmsten M, Kluessendorf D, et al. A receptor-based biosensor for lipoprotein docking at the endothelial surface and vascular matrix. Biosensor & Mioelectronics 2001;16:895-904.

5. Siegel G, Malmsten M, Pietzsch J, Schmidt A, Buddecke E, et al. The effect of garlic on arteriosclerotic nanoplaque formation and size. Phytomedicine 2004;11:24-35.

6. Budoff MJ, Takasu J, Flores FR, Niihara Y, Lu B, Lau BH, Rosen RT, Amagase H. Inhibiting progression of coronary calcification using Aged Garlic Extract in patients receiving statin therapy: a preliminary study. Prev Med. 2004 Nov;39(5):985-91.