The effect of garlic decoction on serum cholesterol in mice given a high-fat diet

The effect of garlic decoction on serum cholesterol concentration in mice was analyzed after a hight-fat diet regimen and an oral administration of the decoction. Fourty-five mice were used in the one-month study, divided into five groups of nine mice each. Each of three groups were subjected to a different concentration (25, 50 and 100 grams of garlic per 200 ml of water resulting in concentrations of 12.5, 25 and 50 gm/100 ml) of garlic decoction respectively, one group was the positive control (high-fat diet without garlic decoction) and the last group served as the negative control (normal diet, without treatment). Initial and final weights were measured as well as the final cholesterol concentration.Results showed that increase in weights of normal mice were lower at a range of 0.6 to 1.4 grams than in those fed with a high-fat diet whose weight increase ranged from 1.2 to 8.4 grams. The values, however, were still considered null at a 0.05 level of significance using the one-way ANOVA. Serum cholesterol concentration, on the other hand, did not show any signs of garlic effectivity, seen at values that ranged from 215.11 to 380.90 for the control group and 241.68 to 391.36 for groups under high-fat diet feeding. In addition, physical changes in fur were observed in white mice under a high-fat diet and these include the appearance of an oily, yellowish fur and fur loss.The study showed that daily intake of high-fat diet can lead to a considerable increase in weight and to fur disorders