Allium vegetable consumption and health: An umbrella review of meta‐analyses of multiple health outcomes

Abstract

Previously, our meta‐analysis and other studies have suggested that allium vegetable consumption is beneficial for health, but no umbrella review has been conducted to assess the evidence of the various health benefits of allium vegetable consumption. Therefore, we conducted this umbrella review on this topic. This umbrella review included a total of 16 meta‐analyses with 50 unique outcomes. The most beneficial cancer‐related outcome was shown for gastric cancer (risk ratio 0.78; 95% confidence interval [CI] 0.67–0.91). In addition, only 8 weeks of garlic consumption significantly decreased serum total cholesterol (weighted mean differences −17.20 mg/dl; 95% CI −23.10 to −11.30), and patients with dyslipidemia who consumed garlic experienced more benefits than the whole population. Diabetic patients with longer durations of garlic intake experienced more benefits in terms of fasting blood glucose (FBG), HbA1c, and serum fructosamine than healthy participants, and garlic intake was associated with blood pressure reduction in hypertensive patients but not in normotensive participants. Limited side effects of garlic, such as garlic odor and gastrointestinal complaints, were reported among the included meta‐analyses. Our results suggested that allium vegetables might be beneficial for cancer prevention. In particular, garlic was comparatively safe and is recommended as a long‐term dietary component for patients with dyslipidemia, diabetes, and hypertension.

Influence of Cooking Methods on Onion Phenolic Compounds Bioaccessibility

“…Among fresh vegetables, onion was the second most cultivated, accounting for 8.1% of the European Union total fresh vegetables [ 3 ]. In recent years, several in vivo studies have described the beneficial effects of allium vegetables (including onion) consumption on cardiovascular diseases, hypertension and cancer [ 4 , 5 ].…”

The Potential Application of Allium Extracts in the Treatment of Gastrointestinal Cancers

“…The Amaryllidaceae family consists of more than 850 different species, among which garlic (Allium sativum), onion (Allium cepa), leeks (Allium tuberosum), chives (Allium schoenoprasumum), and shallot (Allium hirtifolium) are most often used for medical purposes [2]. Recently, there has been increasing interest in the application of allium vegetables-Allium sativum (A. sativum) or Allium cepa (A. cepa) in particular-as well as their constituents and extracts as a potential therapeutic strategy in a vast number of cancers including gastric cancer, colon cancer, liver cancer, pancreatic cancer, esophageal cancer, breast cancer, lung cancer, or prostate cancer [3][4][5]. Except for potential anticarcinogenic properties, Allium vegetables and their constituents have been shown to modulate immune functions by activating macrophages and inducing T-cell proliferation, provide radioprotection, modulate reactive oxygen species (ROS) formation, and might possibly have antiaging properties because of their antioxidant activities [6][7][8][9][10].…”

Non-genetic risk and protective factors and biomarkers for neurological disorders: a meta-umbrella systematic review of umbrella reviews

“…Likewise, some existing evidence might have been omitted in our meta-umbrella review because some studies might have been omitted or were not included in the prior meta-analyses or, because of the blossoming field of umbrella reviews, some studies might have been published after September 21, 2018. To this end, and following the example of previous studies [89], we also performed an additional search for all relevant publications (umbrella reviews) that have appeared in PubMed until January 1, 2020, so that the reader remains updated (Additional file 3) [46,83,84,[183][184][185][186][187][188][189][190][191][192][193][194][195][196][197][198][199][200][201][202]. Moreover, despite our search strategy to include gray literature and policy documents, following previous urging [2], no relevant documents were identified.…”