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Nutrient Metabolism
Research Communication

Well-Characterized Garlic-Derived Materials Are Not Hypolipidemic in APOE*3-Leiden Transgenic Mice¹

Sonia M. S. Espirito Santo^*,, Bart J. M. van Vlijmen^*,, Rien Buytenhek^*, Wim van Duyvenvoorde^*, Louis M. Havekes^*,,**, Ingrid Arnault, Jacques Auger and Hans M. G. Princen^*,2

^* TNO Prevention and Health, Gaubius Laboratory, Leiden, The Netherlands; Departments of General Internal Medicine and ^** Cardiology, Leiden University Medical Center, Leiden, The Netherlands; and Institut de Récherche sur la Biologie de l’Insecte, University F. Rabelais, Tours, France

²To whom correspondence should be addressed. E-mail: jmg.princen{at}pg.tno.nl.

Garlic is reported to have beneficial effects on risk factors associated with cardiovascular disease, including normalization of plasma lipid levels. However, numerous studies do not support this beneficial effect of garlic on plasma lipids. This contradiction may result from the use of different garlic-derived materials, experimental designs, and/or animal models. The present study investigated the hypolipidemic effect of garlic-derived materials in APOE*3-Leiden mice, a model well suited for drug and dietary intervention studies of hyperlipidemia. APOE*3-Leiden mice were fed a garlic-derived sulfur-rich compound, either allicin (0.29 g · L drinking water^–1) or diallyldisulfide (0.27 g · kg diet^–1), or powdered garlic, of either the kwai (42 g · kg diet^–1) or morado (42 g · kg diet^–1) variety. The amounts of garlic-derived materials supplied allowed free intake of allicin or allicin equivalents (diallyldisulfide, kwai, or morado) at 44 mg · kg body wt^–1 · d^–1. Mice were fed a nonpurified diet for 4 wk, followed by a Western diet for 8 wk, both supplemented with the garlic-derived materials. These diets had no consistent effect on plasma lipids and did not affect lipoprotein profiles, which are markers for whole-body cholesterol synthesis and intestinal sterol absorption. The current data indicate that the postulated effects of garlic on cardiovascular disease are not caused via modulation of plasma lipid levels.

KEY WORDS: • garlic • lipids • cholesterol synthesis • lipoprotein metabolism • APOE*3-Leiden transgenic mice