The double-blinded placebo-controlled randomized crossover study was performed in 29 atherosclerotic men (35 to 70 years old) suffering from cerebral atherosclerosis and chronic cerebrovascular insufficiency to elucidate the effect of time-released garlic powder tablets Allicor on platelet aggregation and serum fibrinolytic activity. It has been demonstrated that Allicor 14-days treatment significantly inhibited ADP-induced platelet aggregation by 25.4% (p<0.05) and increased plasma fibrinolytic activity by 22.4% (p<0.05). Additionally, the trend to the decrease in plasma fibrinogen level was observed. Evidence obtained from this study indicates that garlic has potential in the prevention and control of cardiovascular disorders and is beneficial when taken as a dietary supplement. We conclude that Allicor may be beneficial in protecting against cardiovascular disease as a result of inhibiting platelet aggregation and normalizing plasma fibrinolytic activity.

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An extract of garlic powder in isotonic phosphate buffer and adjoen (bioactive compound isolated from garlic powder) suppress human blood platelet aggregation induced by ADP and arachidonic acid in vitro. Adjoen more effectively than aspirin inhibits ADP-induced platelet aggregation but is inferior to aspirin if platelet aggregation is induced by arachidonic acid. Ex vivo oral intake of one Allicor tablet significantly decreases rabbit platelet aggregation induced with ADP. It is suggested that long-acting garlic powder tablets prevent thromboembolic complications and are recommended for correcting hemostasis parameters in patients with atherosclerotic involvement of blood vessels. Key Words: platelet aggregation; atherosclerosis; adjoen; garlic powder; garlic tabletsPlatelet function is changed in some cardiovascular diseases [15]. Increased platelet activity affects blood rheology and microcirculation in tissues and organs. Correction of hemostasis is particularly important for patients with atherosclerotic involvement of blood vessels because of the risk of thromboembolism. Drugs used with this purpose should be prescribed with care, particularly for a long-term therapy. The antiaggregant activity of garlic and garlic-based agents has been established [5,9,12,13]. The safety of this natural product prompted us to study its antiaggregation activity.We examined the effects of long-acting garlic tablets and garlic powder on human and rabbit platelet aggregation in vitro and ex vivo. MATERIALS AND METHODSIn vitro study. Aspirin (Sigma), garlic powder (Lichtwer Pharma CmbH), and adjoen [(E,Z)-4,5,9-trithiadodeca-1,6,11 -trieno-9-oxide], a bioactive com- The garlic powder extract (GPE) was centrifuged at 2000g for 10 min and stored at 4~ Adjoen was obtained by high-pressure liquid chromatography from water extract of garlic, the intermediate reagents were diallyl disulfide and allicyl [4]. The preparation purity was about 95%. Adjoen was dissolved in ethanol to a final concentration of 20 mg/ml and stored at -20~ Experiments were carried out with the platelets from 19 healthy volunteers. Blood was collected from the ulnar vein and stabilized with 0.13 M sodium citrate (1:9). Platelet-rich plasma was prepared by blood centrifugation at 200g for 7 rain. The supernatant was collected in individual tubes and stored at -20~ In order to prepare platelet-free plasma, the preparation was centrifuged again at 2000g for 20 min: For studies of platelet aggregation, the relative platelet count in suspension was adjusted to 0.25% by diluting it with autologous platelet-free plasma. Platelet concentration and aggregation were 9