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Supplement: Significance of Garlic and Its Constituents in Cancer and Cardiovascular Disease

Aged Garlic Extract Prevents a Decline of NK Cell Number and Activity in Patients with Advanced Cancer^1,2

Hideki Ishikawa^*,3, Tomoko Saeki^*, Toru Otani, Takaichiro Suzuki^**, Kojiro Shimozuma, Hoyoku Nishino, Sanae Fukuda^# and Kanehisa Morimoto^#

^* Department of Molecular-Targeting Cancer Prevention and Epidemiology for Community Health and Medicine, Kyoto Prefectural University of Medicine, Kyoto, Japan; Departments of Cancer Epidemiology, Osaka Medical Center for Cancer and Cardiovascular Diseases, Osaka, Japan; ^** Department of Gastroenterology, Osaka Medical Center for Cancer and Cardiovascular Diseases; Department of Healthcare and Social Services, Faculty of Service Industries, University of Marketing and Distribution Sciences (UMDS); Department of Biochemistry, Kyoto Prefectural University of Medicine, Kyoto, Japan; and ^# Department of Social and Environmental Medicine, Course of Environmental Medicine, Osaka University Graduate School of Medicine, Osaka Japan

³ To whom correspondence should be addressed: E-mail: cancer{at}gol.com.

Aged garlic extract (AGE) has manifold biological activities including immunomodulative and antioxidative effects. It is used as a major component of nonprescription tonics and cold-prevention medicines or dietary supplements. Advanced-cancer patients decline in immune functions and quality of life (QOL). The study's subjects were patients with inoperable colorectal, liver, or pancreatic cancer. In a randomized double-blind trial, AGE was administered to one group and a placebo was administered to another for 6 mo. The primary endpoint was a QOL questionnaire based on the Functional Assessment of Cancer Therapy (FACT). The subendpoints were changes in the natural-killer (NK) cell activity the salivary cortisol level from before and after administering AGE. Out of 55 patients invited to participate in the trial, 50 (91%) consented to enroll. They consisted of 42 patients with liver cancer (84%), 7 patients with pancreatic cancer (14%), and 1 patient with colon cancer (2%). Drug compliance was relatively good in both the AGE and placebo groups. Although no difference was observed in QOL, both the number of NK cells and the NK cell activity increased significantly in the AGE group. No adverse effect was observed in either group. The study showed that administering AGE to patients with advanced cancer of the digestive system improved NK cell activity, but caused no improvement in QOL.

KEY WORDS: • aged garlic extract • NK cell activity • advanced cancer • double-blind controlled trial • quality of life

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