Research Article Cholesterol-Lowering Effect of Allicin on

Copyright © 2012 Yin Lu et al. This is an open access article distributed under the Creative Commons Attribution License, which permits unrestricted use, distribution, and reproduction in any medium, provided the original work is properly cited. Allicin was discussed as an active compound with regard to the beneficial effects of garlic in atherosclerosis. The aim of this study was to investigate the cholesterol-lowering properties of allicin. In order to examine its effects on hypercholesterolemia in male ICRmice, this compound with doses of 5, 10, or 20mg/kg body weight was given orally daily for 12 weeks. Changes in body weight and daily food intake were measured regularly during the experimental period. Final contents of serum cholesterol, triglyceride, glucose, and hepatic cholesterol storage were determined. Following a 12-week experimental period, the body weights of allicin-fed mice were less than those of control mice on a high-cholesterol diet by 38.24 ± 7.94 % (P < 0.0001) with 5mg/kg allicin, 39.28 ± 5.03 % (P < 0.0001) with 10mg/kg allicin, and 41.18 ± 5.00 % (P < 0.0001) with 20mg/kg allicin, respectively. A decrease in daily food consumption was also noted in most of the treated animals. Meanwhile, allicin showed a favorable effect in reducing blood cholesterol, triglycerides, and glucose levels and caused a significant decrease in lowering the hepatic cholesterol storage