Abstract

PURPOSE: Several studies have been published about the effect of garlic on lipid profile and blood glucose in diabetic patients. Which, the results mostly contradict with each other. This study aimed to investigate the effect of garlic on lipid profile and serum glucose levels in diabetic patients using a systematic review and meta-analysis. METHODS: This study was a systematic review and meta-analysis of articles published between 1988 and 2016. For this purpose, two independent researchers searched SID medical information databases including MagIran, Irandoc, Medlib, Iran Medex, Science Direct, Scopus, Google and PubMed using keywords. Data were analyzed using STATA software. RESULTS: After the initial search, 23,000 articles were found, of which 33 had the required criteria for the meta-analysis. In the present study, the total sample under review was 1273 individuals, with a mean of 39 samples per study. Overall, the garlic was more influential than placebo in reducing the levels of lipid parameters including triglycerides (TG), total cholesterol (TC), high density lipoprotein (HDL), low density lipoprotein (LDL), and fasting blood sugar (FBS) and HbA1C. In the meta-analysis, the concentration of serum TC, LDL, TG, and HDL in the group receiving garlic compared with the placebo showed a significant decreased for 16.87mg/dl (95 CI, -21.01, -12.73) (P=0.001), 9.65mg/dl (95 CI, -15.07, -4.23) (P=0.001), 12.44mg/dl (95 CI, -18.19, -6.69) (P=0.001), and increased for 3.19mg/dl (95 CI, 1.85, 4.53) (P=0.001), respectively. Also, the concentration of serum FBS and HbA1C serum showed a significant decreased for 10.90mg/dl (95 CI, -16.40, -5.40) (P=0.001) and 0.60mg/dl (95 CI, -0.98, -0.22) (P=0.001), respectively. CONCLUSION: Garlic can reduce lipid profile as well as glucose parameters and be therapeutically effective in patients suffering from cardiovascular diseases and diabetes.