Garlic Studied for Weight Management

According to a new study, garlic may support healthy weight management and fat deposition. Garlic (Allium sativum) has antioxidant and free-radical scavenging properties. Many of the health effects of garlic are attributed to the sulfur-containing constituent allicin.

Mice in this study were fed a high-fat diet for 8 weeks to induce weight gain. This was followed by ingestion of a high-fat control diet or a high-fat diet supplemented with 2 or 5 percent garlic for an additional 7 weeks. The mice were then evaluated for body weight, white adipose (fat) mass, and liver and plasma lipid concentrations. In addition, the mice were assessed for body temperature, transcription of adipogenic (fat-forming) genes, and activity of AMP-activated protein kinase, which is a protein that plays a role in the regulation of cellular energy metabolism.

The study showed that dietary garlic supplementation resulted in healthier body weight and white adipose tissue deposition compared to the mice fed the high-fat diet alone. Additionally, garlic mitigated changes in liver and plasma lipids induced by the high-fat diet. Garlic supplementation also resulted in the reduction of mRNA levels of adipogenic genes in white adipose tissues. Furthermore, the mice supplemented with garlic maintained a significantly higher body temperature during a cold-challenge experiment. Garlic supplementation also stimulated AMP-activated protein kinase activity in white and brown adipose tissue, liver, and skeletal muscle, indicating cellular energy utilization.

The researchers stated that the weight balancing effect of garlic is at least partially mediated by the activation of AMP-activated protein kinase and heat production, and modulation of multiple genes involved in adipogenesis.

Reference:

Lee MS, Kim IH, Kim CT, Kim Y. Reduction of Body Weight by Dietary Garlic Is Associated with an Increase of Uncoupling Protein mRNA Expression and Activation of AMP-Activated Protein Kinase in Diet-Induced Obese Mice. J Nutr. 2011 Sep 14. Published Online Ahead of Print.